A smaller version of Chicago’s popular German-style holiday market is coming to Minneapolis this winter.
The inaugural Minneapolis Christkindl Market will be open five weekends in November and December outside the new North Loop Green development across from Target Field.
“We’ll have 15 days of holiday fun,” Minneapolis Christkindl Market executive director Nadine Schaefer told Downtown Voices on Tuesday. “It’s free to attend and it will be a very festive atmosphere.”
From little wooden huts, 30 vendors will sell hand-made crafts, gifts, decorations, and themed food and drinks, including melted raclette cheese, bratwurst, pretzels, and mulled wine. An entertainment lineup features local musicians, folk dancers, carolers, visits from Krampus and Santa, and more.
Visitors will be able to buy warm Glühwein (mulled wine) in a commemorative mug and stroll around as they check out wares from 15 countries and take in the market's sights and sounds.
Christmas markets in southern Germany, Switzerland, and Austria are often called Christkindlmarkt (“Christ child market” in German) after the traditional gift-bringer in European folklore.
Schaefer is originally from Germany but based in Minneapolis. She’s organized Christmas markets all over since 2010, starting in Vancouver.
Christkindlmarket Chicago has been a winter attraction for locals and tourists for almost three decades, with its flagship market in Daley Plaza downtown. In 2023, more than 2 million people visited across its three market locations, including Wrigleyville, the area surrounding the Chicago Cubs’ stadium.
The developers of North Loop Green modeled its 1-acre park, the Green, after Wrigley Field’s open-air event space, Gallagher Way, which also hosts fitness classes, movie screenings, and seasonal markets.
“They’re very excited to host this event in Chicago at Wrigleyville and they absolutely wanted that to be part of their activation in Minneapolis as well,” Schaefer said.
Similar holiday markets have popped up around the Twin Cities over the years.
Of course, there’s the annual European Christmas Market at Union Depot in St. Paul, which runs on the weekends from Nov. 29 to Dec. 22 this year.
Previous iterations of downtown Minneapolis’ Holidazzle incorporated European-inspired marketplaces when the festival was held in Peavey Plaza and Loring Park.
This year’s Holidazzle takes place Dec. 18-22 and focuses on free, family-friendly entertainment, including roller skating and mini-golf. The five-day event spans five blocks of Nicollet Mall, where other marketplaces are setting up shop for over a month.
The Dayton’s Project is hosting more than 100 local vendors for the fourth year of its holiday market in the former department store on Nicollet Mall, where it will be open daily from Nov. 14 to Dec. 28, except for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Minneapolis Craft Market is returning in mid-November for the Minneapolis Downtown Council’s Holidays on Nicollet with a pop-up store, featuring more than 60 local artists and makers, inside the IDS Center. The mobile marketplace and its yearly A Handmade Holiday Market are also making a comeback in the former Lakes & Legends taproom, now Brühaven Craft Co., every weekend until Christmas starting at the beginning of November.
At the far end of Nicollet Mall, the Four Seasons is once again building its Nordic Village, featuring a variety of locally-sourced goods and gifts on Saturdays and Sundays from Nov. 2 through Dec. 22 atop the hotel's fourth-floor restaurant patio.
Minneapolis Christkindl Market is looking forward to being part of the broader activation of downtown during the holidays.
“I’m most excited about how we’re coming to the heart of the city, close to music venues, theaters, and restaurants, so people can make it a fun outing at the market and their favorite places,” Schaefer said.
Minneapolis Christkindl Market will be open Nov. 22-24, Nov. 29-Dec. 1, Dec. 6-8, Dec. 13-15, and Dec. 20-22 at North Loop Green, 350 N. Fifth St. Its hours of operation are 4-9 p.m. on Fridays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.
