Downtown Fargo's holiday season in 2026 has a fixed start and a fixed end, and it covers 16 days counting both. It opens Friday, Nov. 20, when Folkways Christkindlmarkt opens at the Fargo Civic Center. It closes Saturday, Dec. 5, with the Xcel Energy Holiday Lights Parade. The Downtown Community Partnership's Window Wonderland storefront voting runs that whole time.
That timing is deliberate. DCP's own listing says voting starts "the first night of Folkways Christkindlmarkt" and runs "through the night of the Xcel Energy Holiday Lights Parade." The market ticket is set up the same way: one purchase covers every day the market is open. Once Broadway Square goes quiet in early November, everything downtown points toward Nov. 20.
The 16 days on one page
Broadway Square's busy outdoor season closed with the last Red River Market on Oct. 31. Here's what fills the calendar next.
| Date | What's on | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri. Nov. 20 | Christkindlmarkt opens, noon to 9 p.m.; Window Wonderland voting begins | Fargo Civic Center, 207 4th St. N.; Broadway Square, 201 Broadway N. | $10 adults, 17 and under free |
| Sat. Nov. 21 | Christkindlmarkt, noon to 9 p.m.; Pride of Dakota Holiday Showcase | Civic Center; Scheels Arena, 5225 31st Ave. S. | Market ticket; showcase price not listed |
| Sun. Nov. 22 | Christkindlmarkt, noon to 6 p.m.; Pride of Dakota; The Wizards of Winter at 3 p.m. | Civic Center; Scheels Arena; Fargo Theatre | Theatre tickets from $40 |
| Fri. Nov. 27 | Christkindlmarkt, noon to 9 p.m. | Civic Center | Same ticket |
| Sat. Nov. 28 | Christkindlmarkt, noon to 9 p.m.; Santa Village opening weekend, 1 to 6 p.m. | Civic Center; Rheault Farm | Santa Village free |
| Sun. Nov. 29 | Christkindlmarkt final day, noon to 6 p.m.; tree pickup 3 to 7 p.m.; Santa Village, 1 to 6 p.m. | Civic Center; Rheault Farm | |
| Mon. Nov. 30 | Tree pickup, noon to 6 p.m. | Civic Center | |
| Sat. Dec. 5 | Drekker brewery tour at noon; Holiday Tree Lighting; Holiday Lights Parade at 6:30 p.m.; voting closes | Downtown Fargo; Broadway Square |
The busy days come in two clusters, the two market weekends and parade Saturday. The days in between are quieter, and Window Wonderland is the one thing that runs straight through them.
A $10 ticket meant for coming back
Folkways runs Christkindlmarkt over two weekends: Nov. 20 to 22 and Nov. 27 to 29. It has three parts: an Outdoor Winter Wonderland, a Gift Market, and a Bier Hall with Drekker Brewing Company. There's also food, live music, art demonstrations, holiday treats and activities for kids. Fridays and Saturdays run noon to 9 p.m., and Sundays close at 6.
The ticket is the reason to plan more than one visit. Adult admission is $10, and kids 17 and under get in free. Visit Fargo-Moorhead's event listing says that one ticket is good for all six days, with as many re-entries as you want. Buying online through Folkways adds a $0.70 fee, for $10.70 total.
A family of two adults and two teenagers pays $20 for the whole run. That means an adult who stops in on a Friday after work for the Bier Hall can come back with the kids on the second Saturday without paying again. You can buy at the door, or in advance at Drekker's Brewhalla, and advance ticket holders skip the entry line.
Folkways lists free parking during all event hours at five downtown spots:
- Block 9 Parking Ramp, 505 3rd Ave. N.
- Roberts Commons Ramp, 217 Roberts St. N.
- Civic Center Ramp, 411 2nd Ave. N.
- City Hall Lot, 125 3rd St. N.
- Mercantile Ramp, 410 5th St. N.
If you're used to walking the dog to Broadway Square on a Saturday, leave the dog home for this one. Folkways says dogs aren't allowed in the Civic Center or at the event. As of late October, Folkways lists the 2026 vendors as "coming soon," so no lineup names have been posted yet.
The trees outside go home with you
The Christmas trees in the Outdoor Winter Wonderland are trees that people have pre-ordered through Folkways. Once the market closes, buyers take their trees home. Folkways presents the tree order as a way to support Christkindlmarkt.
There are two pickup windows at the Civic Center, 207 4th St. N.:
- Sunday, Nov. 29, from 3 to 7 p.m.
- Monday, Nov. 30, from noon to 6 p.m.
The first window opens three hours before the market closes for the season at 6 p.m. If you have a tree ordered, you can do one last lap of the Gift Market and then drive home with a tree that has been part of the display for two weekends. Orders go through the Folkways tree page.
The first weekend spreads across town
Christkindlmarkt's first weekend lines up with two other big events, so it's an easy weekend to spend away from downtown too.
Visit Fargo-Moorhead's fall events guide lists the Fargo Pride of Dakota Holiday Showcase at Scheels Arena, 5225 31st Ave. S., on Nov. 21 and 22. On Sunday, Nov. 22, the Fargo Theatre hosts The Wizards of Winter, a holiday rock opera. Doors open at 2 p.m., the show starts at 3, tickets start at $40, and all ages are welcome.
The market is open until 6 that Sunday, so you can do the theater and still use your Christkindlmarkt ticket the same afternoon, before or after the show.
Santa Village takes the second Saturday
The second market weekend overlaps with another season opener. Fargo Parks lists Santa Village opening weekend at Rheault Farm on Nov. 28 and 29, from 1 to 6 p.m. both days, with free admission. Horse-drawn carriage rides cost $2.50 per person, and children 3 and under ride free with an adult.
For a family, that Saturday could start at Rheault Farm in the afternoon and finish at the Civic Center, which stays open until 9 p.m. Since the market ticket covers re-entry, a second visit that weekend costs nothing extra.
The week the market is dark
From Monday, Nov. 30 through Friday, Dec. 4, the market is closed and there's no headline event downtown. Window Wonderland is what keeps going. DCP's 2026 listing describes downtown businesses turning their storefronts into holiday displays, centered on Broadway Square, with voting open from Nov. 20 through Dec. 5. In late October, DCP said voting links and participant details were still coming.
So that week is a good time to look at the windows without the market crowds. A few newer downtown businesses make good stops along the way:
- Revival Specialty Coffee Bar, 623 2nd Ave. N., in the former Youngblood Coffee spot. Prairie Public reported its opening on Oct. 21, in a Prairie Plates interview with owner Hannah Blazinski Cuhel about her food and drink menus and the cost of coffee beans.
- Mastel Made Artisan Eyewear, Suite 10, Block 6, 624 Main Ave., which held its grand opening Aug. 18, according to InForum.
Two more were still planned as of InForum's Sept. 28 downtown business roundup. Tastee Vintage owner Yann Niteka hoped to open around early November at 115 Broadway N. Fiona's Filipino Cuisine was getting a cafe ready at 14 Roberts St., with a lease starting Oct. 1, a month or two of cleanup and minor renovations expected, and no official opening date. If either opens during the holidays, it will be in the middle of the window-display stretch. Check with each business before you go.
Saturday, Dec. 5 closes the stretch
The last day packs in the most. The DCP calendar lists a Drekker Brewery Tour from noon to 1 p.m. Fargo Parks' Broadway Square page lists a Holiday Tree Lighting the same day but doesn't give a time yet. The Xcel Energy Holiday Lights Parade runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in downtown Fargo. Window Wonderland voting closes that night.
DCP still lists the parade route and line-up location as TBD, so check its parade page for the route before you pick a spot on the curb. That evening wraps up the run that started at the Civic Center on Nov. 20, and the storefront voting ends with it.
If walking these blocks all season has you wondering what your own place is worth, Up North Real Estate can put together a human-prepared valuation while you're busy with the holidays. Get Your Home's Value, and we'll have it ready once the parade is over.
