The Week Downtown Holland's Holiday Calendars All Land on 8th Street
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
Five different groups now plan downtown Holland's holiday season, and none of them works from the others' schedule. Downtown Holland runs the shopping nights and the Parade of Lights. Holland Friends of Art runs Kerstmarkt. Tulip Time runs Dutch Winterfest, now in its second year. Holland Parks & Recreation runs the Ice Park, and Windmill Island Gardens runs Magic at the Mill.
Laid out on one calendar, the season bunches into two short stretches: the weekend of Nov. 20–21 and the five days from Dec. 1 to Dec. 5. Much of what happens in those days sells timed tickets online only. Planning your December really starts this week.
Kerstmarkt and the Holland Ice Park open on the same Friday. On Saturday evening, Downtown Holland's Holiday Open House starts a short walk away.
According to the Holland Area Visitors Bureau, the carolers include the Holland Chorale's Dickens Carolers in costume plus groups from Central Wesleyan Church and Ventura Baptist Church, and the chestnuts roast at GDK Park.
That Saturday has the longest overlap of the season. Kerstmarkt is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., the Ice Park runs sessions, and from 5 p.m. on, the Open House fills 8th Street. An afternoon skate, a loop through the market, and dinner downtown before the carolers start all fit into one day.
The Ice Park is in its second season. Holland Parks & Recreation is building on the first winter with more skating sessions, curling clinics, and Learn to Skate classes. Skating costs $10 for a 90-minute session, and that includes skate rental. Tickets are sold online only, in advance, and the park is cashless. Spectators don't need a ticket.
Kerstmarkt's 2026 vendor list splits into two groups. Seventeen vendors stay all season, including deSoto Nuts, Flagel's Sugarhouse, Marzec Chocolates, Big Bear Honey, Rachel Brace Glass, Shore Gems, and St. Steve's Farm-Crafted Beverages. The rest of the stalls change each weekend.
| Weekend | Dates | A few of the rotating vendors |
|---|---|---|
| First | Nov. 20–21 | Grace Hollow, John Jurries Art, Kunkel Kandles, Piece by Piece Designs |
| Second | Nov. 27–28 | Adventures of Grumpy Gnome, Happy Little Whales, KJH Ceramics, Ridgewood Artisans |
| Third | Dec. 4–5 | Erik's Kaotik Garden, July Sky Candle Co, Kate's Ceramics, Sandra Jensen Studio |
| Fourth | Dec. 11–12 | Jazzy J Macrame, Not Your Grandma's Crochet, Sassy Designs by Joleen, Wilde Wick Collection |
| Fifth | Dec. 18–19 | Christina Vera Creative, Geeky Goodies Gourmet Marshmallows, Jules Jewelry, Quail Run Cottage |
A few names show up across several weekends. Osman's Flowers & Firs and Little Orange Scooter are listed for each of the first four. Original Lisa covers the last three. If you liked a ceramics stall on your first visit, it may not be there when you come back. Pick your weekend for the vendors you want to see, and the market's 2026 vendor page lists them all.
Every Friday runs 3 to 7 p.m. and every Saturday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. That's the market's own schedule, and it's the one to trust if another listing shows a later Friday close.
The Parade of Lights steps off Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 6:30 p.m. from 8th Street and Columbia Avenue. It heads west on 8th to Holland Civic Center Place. Gentex Corporation sponsors it, and Downtown Holland says the 2026 lineup of floats, vehicles, walkers and marching bands is already full. 8th Street closes at 2 p.m. that day. Public parking is listed on 7th and 9th Streets, in the 7th and 9th Street parking decks, and at the Civic Center.
Dutch Winterfest starts the same day and runs through Saturday. Tulip Time held its first Winterfest in 2025. This year it adds Dutch Skate, short sets at the Ice Park by skaters in traditional Dutch dress. "Dutch Skate is exactly the kind of experience we love creating," Tulip Time Festival executive director Gwen Auwerda told MLive.
| Day | What's on | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Tue., Dec. 1 | Parade of Lights 6:30 p.m.; Dutch Skate 6–6:30 p.m. | 8th Street; Holland Ice Park |
| Wed., Dec. 2 | Winter Tales for Tots 10–11 a.m.; Holiday Huis Tour 4–8 p.m.; Dutch Skate 6–6:30 p.m. | Herrick District Library; starts at United Bank, 167 S. River Ave.; Ice Park |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Winter Tales for Tots 10–11 a.m.; Dutch Skate 6–6:30 p.m. | Herrick District Library; Ice Park |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Proost! 3–7:30 p.m.; Kerstmarkt 3–7 p.m.; Sinterklaas Shuffle 5–8 p.m.; Magic at the Mill 5–9 p.m.; Dutch Skate 6–6:30 p.m. | Culture Cheese Shop; 150 W. 8th St.; Tulip Time Office; Windmill Island Gardens; Ice Park |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Kerstmarkt 9 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sinterklaas Shuffle 10 a.m.–1 p.m.; Dutch Skate 2:30–3 p.m.; Proost! 3–7:30 p.m.; Magic at the Mill 5–9 p.m. | Same as Friday |
Delft Downtown runs 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day of the festival. It's a public-art route from Kerstmarkt along 8th Street to the Ice Park. Tulip Time calls this year's version "bigger than ever," with four Dutch-inspired displays: large metal sculptures, oversized Delft-style ornaments made by artists, wooden shoes painted by local artists, and banners designed by Heinen Delft Blauw.
Winter Tales for Tots costs nothing. It's for kids up to age 5 and their caregivers, and it's held indoors at the library's main branch, 300 S. River Ave.
Friday is the busiest night of the season. Kerstmarkt is in its third weekend. The Proost! Tasting Tour stops at Culture Cheese Shop, Bowerman's on 8th and New Holland Brewery. The Sinterklaas Shuffle sends families out from the Tulip Time Office at 42 W. 8th St. to five stops downtown. Across the river, Magic at the Mill opens its first night.
Families with young kids should know that Sinterklaas can only be in one place. Windmill Island Gardens says he won't be at Magic at the Mill on Friday, Dec. 4, because he'll be at the Shuffle downtown. If meeting him is the point of the night, Friday means the Shuffle. Magic at the Mill on a later date works too.
Magic at the Mill runs Dec. 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19, from 5 to 9 p.m., at 1 Lincoln Ave. Its "tulip field" of 1,000 LED blossoms is set to holiday music, and the DeZwaan windmill is lit up. Entry is sold in one-hour slots starting at 5, 6, 7 and 8 p.m.
Nearly all of these events sell online only. A few are timed or capped:
All Tulip Time tickets go through the "Buy Tickets" links on its Dutch Winterfest page.
Downtown's shopping events don't need tickets, just an alarm clock. Shop 'Til You Drop is Friday, Nov. 13, from 6 to 9 p.m., with discounts up to 30% at participating shops. The Shopping Jam is Saturday, Dec. 12, from 8 to 11 a.m. Participating businesses open two hours early, and each takes 30% off at least one item from 8 to 9, 25% from 9 to 10, and 20% from 10 to 11. That Saturday also falls on Kerstmarkt's fourth weekend, so a morning of early deals can end at Jazzy J Macrame's stall or the Wilde Wick Collection candles at 150 W. 8th.
If you liked how the Fall Fest schedule came together, December is built the same way, just over a few weeks. Zeeland has a compact holiday stretch of its own on Main Avenue, and our Holland neighborhood page covers more of what's close to home.
If family is visiting that week and wants help planning a day around 8th Street, or you want to talk about what this time of year is like in Holland, reach out to Lindsey R Eppink. Let's Connect.
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