All three Christkindlmarket locations open on Friday, Nov. 20. Two of them close for the year on Christmas Eve. The third is Christkindlmarket Wrigleyville at Gallagher Way, 3635 N. Clark St., and it stays open through New Year's Eve, according to the market's official page. Daley Plaza and RiverEdge Park in Aurora both close Dec. 24.
The difference adds up. Downtown runs 35 days, from Nov. 20 through Dec. 24. The Wrigleyville market is open 41 days, the same Nov. 20 start through Dec. 31, minus Christmas Day. Those six extra days, Dec. 26 through Dec. 31, are when Lakeview has the only Christkindlmarket still running in the Chicago area. The neighborhood's own holiday events cluster in the first half of the season, so Lakeview gets two holiday seasons back to back: one put on by its chambers and corridors, and one at Gallagher Way.
The season, in date order
The official Wrigleyville market page lists the 2026 dates and hours. The neighborhood events come from the Lakeview and Lakeview East chamber calendars.
| Date | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 1 to Dec. 21 | Giver's Gift promotion, 29th year | Lakeview East businesses |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | Christkindlmarket Wrigleyville opens; Winterland listed to start | Gallagher Way, 3635 N. Clark St. |
| Sun., Nov. 22 | Lakeview Tree Lighting | Lincoln and Wellington |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | Market open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for Thanksgiving | Gallagher Way |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Southport Holiday Cocktail Crawl, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. | Southport Corridor |
| Dec. 21 to 23 | Market opens early on weekdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. | Gallagher Way |
| Thu., Dec. 24 | Market open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Daley Plaza and Aurora close for the season | Gallagher Way |
| Fri., Dec. 25 | Market closed | |
| Dec. 26 to 31 | Wrigleyville is the only Christkindlmarket open | Gallagher Way |
The first half runs on neighborhood events
Most of what Lakeview's business groups plan happens before the market reaches its busiest stretch. The Lakeview Tree Lighting runs 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22, at Lincoln and Wellington. That's the market's first Sunday. The chamber describes it as a ceremony held each year on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, with carolers, goody bags, and a visit from the North Pole. The market closes at 7 p.m. on Sundays, so on Nov. 22 it shuts while the tree lighting is still going.
Two weeks later comes the Southport Holiday Cocktail Crawl on Friday, Dec. 4, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Businesses along the Southport Corridor serve cocktail samples, and the evening includes carolers and photos with Santa. That Friday the Gallagher Way market is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., so it stays open half an hour after the crawl ends.
The longest event on the calendar is the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce's Giver's Gift, back for its 29th year from Nov. 1 through Dec. 21. Shoppers save receipts from purchases around the neighborhood and turn them in for a $50 Lakeview East gift card. The qualifying details are on the chamber's events page. The promotion ends Dec. 21. That same day, the Wrigleyville market switches from its usual 3 p.m. weekday opening to an 11 a.m. opening.
The second half belongs to Gallagher Way
From the Monday before Christmas onward, the market keeps longer hours almost every day. Here's how the stretch after Christmas looks, built from the posted daily hours and the special hours:
- Saturday, Dec. 26: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., the regular Saturday hours
- Sunday, Dec. 27: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the regular Sunday hours
- Monday, Dec. 28, through Wednesday, Dec. 30: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., instead of the usual 3 p.m. weekday opening
- Thursday, Dec. 31: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
On the regular weekday schedule, Monday through Thursday, the market is only open six hours a day. From Dec. 28 through Dec. 30, those weekdays get ten hours, and New Year's Eve gets five. Southport Corridor News described the Dec. 31 close as giving North Side residents an extra week to visit after Christmas.
This year the market has 28 local and international vendors selling holiday gifts, handcrafted goods, ornaments, German food, sweets, and seasonal drinks. Admission is free.
The late close has a track record, but the market itself has skipped a year
Staying open to Dec. 31 isn't new for Wrigleyville. In 2023 the market ran Nov. 17 through Dec. 31, according to Southport Corridor News. In 2025 it ran Nov. 23 through Dec. 31.
The market doesn't come back every year automatically, though. In 2024 the Wrigleyville location didn't open at all because Wrigley Field was hosting the NHL Winter Classic, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Daley Plaza and Aurora went ahead that year and ran Nov. 22 through Dec. 24. Gallagher Way's December plans depend on what Wrigley Field has booked. As of early October, the Cubs' concert page had no upcoming shows listed.
The Wrigleyville market itself is fairly new. The organizers' own history says the location just outside Wrigley Field opened in 2017. They describe it as a market for visitors who want a neighborhood setting but still want to shop from many of the downtown vendors. The Christkindlmarket as a whole goes back much further. It opened in 1996 at Pioneer Court and moved to Daley Plaza in 1997, per Block Club Chicago's account. The Sun-Times called 2024 Daley Plaza's 28th season. The organizers are calling 2026 the market's 30th anniversary.
That anniversary shows up in this year's mugs. The 2026 annual mug is a 200 ml flute-inspired design with a pearl-white finish, which the organizers describe as a traditional symbol of a 30th anniversary. It's decorated with a market scene and anniversary fireworks. A second mug is shaped like a green evergreen and wrapped in a garland of tiny annual ornaments from past years. Both start at $10 empty and are sold at all three markets, including the Wrigleyville info booth. Since Wrigleyville is the only market open after Dec. 24, it's also the only place to buy them in person that last week.
Getting to Clark Street in late December
The market's parking and transportation page lists two Gallagher Way options. The Toyota Camry lot at 1126 W. Grace St. starts at $10. Toyota Highlander VIP parking at 1088 W. Waveland Ave. starts at $30. Both can be bought ahead of time through GallagherWay.com or on site while spots last. The same page notes that the Red Line and several bus stops are within steps of the market, and that more 2026 parking details haven't been released yet. Those prices could change before Nov. 20.
The Camry lot is the same Grace Street parcel at the center of the Cubs' proposed parking expansion. We covered that dispute in an earlier post. For the holiday season, though, the market's page lists the lot as a place to park.
What hasn't been posted yet
Winterland at Gallagher Way is listed to start Nov. 20. The 2026 announcement says Winterland usually brings holiday lights, an ice skating rink, and seasonal entertainment, and that past seasons have included Santa's Workshop, holiday movies, live performances, and Gallagher Way's annual tree lighting. Earlier seasons had an 8,000-square-foot rink, according to the organizers' history. As of Oct. 7, the 2026 rink hours, the Gallagher Way tree lighting date, and Santa's schedule have not been posted. The market's events page currently says there are no upcoming events and points visitors to Gallagher Way for announcements.
Until those dates are out, here is what's confirmed: the neighborhood tree lighting on Nov. 22, the Southport crawl on Dec. 4, Giver's Gift through Dec. 21, and the market open every day except Christmas through 4 p.m. on Dec. 31.
If you live near the Grace and Waveland lots and want to talk through how game days, Winterland, and the rest of the Gallagher Way calendar affect your block or your building, Andy Ogorzaly is glad to go over it with you. Let's Connect.
