Lawrenceville's Christkindl Market Opens Before Thanksgiving This Year

Last year the Atlanta Christkindl Market opened its first Lawrenceville season on Black Friday, Nov. 28. This year it opens on Friday, Nov. 20, eight days earlier and six days before Thanksgiving. That one change pulls the start of downtown's holiday season into the same week that Aurora Theatre and the Lawrenceville Arts Center open their holiday shows. As a result, the busiest stretch on the Square now comes before the turkey.

The market's weeknights also run later. When it arrived on the Lawn, it was open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 8 p.m. and closed at 8 p.m. on Sundays. This season's posted hours are 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Admission is still free, and the market is still on Lawrenceville Lawn at 210 Luckie St.

Why the market is still here, and growing into the calendar

Lawrenceville is a recent home for the market. According to the Gwinnett Daily Post, it spent two years at Atlantic Station, one at Centennial Park and four in Buckhead before moving to the Lawn for its eighth season. The nonprofit German American Cultural Foundation of Atlanta presents it. Marco Foelske, the market's chief operating officer, told the paper that Buckhead had become congested for traffic and parking. He also said the organizers have "a multi-year commitment with Lawrenceville."

That commitment explains this year's schedule. A market planning to stay can add a week at the front of the season and an extra hour on weeknights. When the move was announced, the Daily Post described close to 100 wooden booths from Germany, a 150-foot Christmas tree and a 50-foot Ferris wheel. The organizer's Lawrenceville events calendar doesn't list any events for this season yet.

The week before Thanksgiving is now opening week for everyone

The market's new start date lines up with two other openings within walking distance of the Lawn.

• Thursday, Nov. 19: Aurora Theatre opens Christmas Canteen 2026 on the Metro Waterproofing Main Stage. It runs through Dec. 23.
• Friday, Nov. 20: Christkindl opens at 11 a.m. At 7 p.m., Southern Ballet Theatre opens A Very Grinchy Christmas on the Clyde & Sandra Strickland Grand Stage at the Lawrenceville Arts Center.
• Saturday, Nov. 21: A Very Grinchy Christmas plays at 2:30 and 7 p.m., and the market is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Sunday, Nov. 22: The ballet closes with a 2:30 p.m. matinee.
• Monday through Wednesday, Nov. 23–25: The market runs 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. That adds Monday and Tuesday, when it's normally closed, and turns Wednesday's usual 3 p.m. opening into a full day.

This year's schedule puts a theater opening, a ballet run and the market's first three days into the same week, all within about two blocks of downtown. Aurora and the Arts Center link to tickets for Canteen and the ballet, but their pages don't list prices.

Thanksgiving night belongs to the courthouse

Christkindl is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26. The county holds its free Lighting of the Tree at the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse, 185 W. Crogan St., that same Thursday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Santa arrives to light the Great Tree at 6 p.m.

The county lists photos with Santa, a gingerbread house contest display, a trackless train, s'mores and children's activities. Aurora Theatre's Festival of Trees is also on display at the Lawrenceville Arts Center. The tradition predates the market. Speaking to the Gwinnett Daily Post when the market arrived, Mayor David Still described it this way:

"Families come to Downtown Lawrenceville each year for the Lighting of the Great Tree on Thanksgiving night and for seasonal favorites at the Lawrenceville Arts Center."

Thursdays are normally market evenings, so Thanksgiving is the one Thursday of the season when the courthouse lawn has downtown to itself. The market reopens Friday, Nov. 27, on its regular hours.

Two city lots close almost three weeks before opening day

The schedule change affects parking well before Nov. 20. In an Oct. 23 alert, the City of Lawrenceville announced that the Lawrenceville Green Lot and Lawrenceville Silver Lot are closed to the public from Nov. 1 through Dec. 25 for the duration of the Christkindl Market. That covers every weekday errand, lunch and Arts Center matinee from the first of November through Christmas Day, whether or not the market is open.

The market names parking differently. Its page tells visitors to use lots A, B, E, F, G, H or I and says lots C and D aren't available. The city's alert uses colors, and the two systems don't match up on their own. The city's downtown parking map is the reference to check before you head out.

These options remain available, according to the market's visitor information:

1. Two-hour street parking throughout the Historic Square.
2. The Downtown Lawrenceville Parking Deck at 147 E. Crogan St., behind the Lawrenceville Arts Center.
3. The Luckie Street Parking Deck at 225 Luckie St., near the Lawn.
4. Public lots one block east and one block west of the Historic Courthouse, at Crogan, Culver and Pike streets, with access from Culver Street.

For an evening show, the Crogan Street deck behind the Arts Center is the closest to the stage door. The Luckie Street deck is the closest to the market. The two-hour limit on street parking matters if you plan to see a show and then walk the market.

Three more weekends where the calendars stack

After opening week, the overlaps come in clusters. The market is open through each of them.

Dec. 5 is the busiest single day on that list. A family show on the Metro Waterproofing Main Stage in the morning and a symphony concert on the Strickland Grand Stage that evening put two audiences downtown, with the market open in between. The weekend of Dec. 18 to 21 runs four days, because the market's added Monday hours on Dec. 21 overlap the last Motown Christmas date.

The season then winds down in order. Christmas Canteen's run ends Dec. 23. The market's last day is Christmas Eve, Thursday, Dec. 24, with shortened hours of 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Green and Silver lots stay closed through Dec. 25.

Santa, twice, and a different kind of lights across town

Downtown has two Santa options this season. The free one is at the courthouse on Thanksgiving night, where the county lists photos with Santa among the activities. At the market, Santa photos are $25 per visit, and you take them on your own phone or camera. The organizer hasn't posted dates or times yet.

For lights away from the Square, The Light Park's ticketed walk-through is at Gwinnett Field, 2500 Buford Drive. It opens Nov. 13, a week before the market, and runs through Jan. 3, 2027. Hours are 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Holiday hours and closure dates are posted on The Light Park's page. It's away from the Square, which makes it an option on the stacked downtown weekends.

The Atlanta Christkindl Market's Lawrenceville page carries the hours above. Aurora Theatre's Christmas Canteen page and the Lawrenceville Arts Center carry the show tickets.

If a busy downtown season has you wondering what the extra activity and foot traffic mean for homes near the Square, Pike Premier Real Estate is glad to talk it through over a cup of coffee before or after your trip to the market. Schedule a Free Consultation with Beverly Davison.