At noon on Saturday, Nov. 21, Christkindlmarkt Dublin opens to the public at Riverside Crossing Park, below the Dublin Link. It runs through Christmas Eve, and admission is free. The paperwork behind it describes an event planned to last a decade. City Council signed a contract with a five-year first term and room to renew for five more. The operator pays for the infrastructure, and the city's share of revenue grows every year. This December is the first edition of a market designed to come back each year and get bigger.
The contract reads like a ten-year plan
Council approved Resolution 62-25 on Nov. 17, 2025. It authorized an agreement with Christkindlmarkt Consulting, LLC to manage the market. The terms are listed in the meeting minutes:
- An initial five-year term ending April 2031, with an option for five more years
- A protected revenue share for the city that starts in year two and rises annually
- Total projected revenue to the city of $542,000 over 10 years
- The operator buys the huts and handles setup, teardown, storage, staffing, entertainment, vendors, security and decorating
- The city provides bathrooms, existing park decorations, power and water, and keeps running the ice rink
- A non-compete covering a 90-mile radius
- An emergency action plan developed with Dublin Police
Council members added more conditions after asking questions. Huts have to follow traditional standards, with no tents allowed. Decorations and lighting have to go beyond what the city already provides. The market needs at least 40 vendors, though the first year can have fewer if the infrastructure isn't ready.
The revenue share begins in year two, so the 2026 market works as a launch season. Most of the city's projected $542,000 is expected to come later in the contract.
The path to opening day took more than four years:
- April 2022: City staff circulated an early memo on holiday markets and recommended a feasibility study.
- March 2025: Council approved the final feasibility study.
- April 2025: The city issued a request for proposals from operators.
- Nov. 17, 2025: Council approved the operator agreement.
- Aug. 28, 2026: The city announced dates, hours and the collectible mug.
- Sept. 22, 2026: The operator announced its first vendors.
Who owns the huts, and why it matters
The plan changed between the study and the contract. In 2025, NBC4 reported that the feasibility study recommended the city pay for reusable huts and decorations. The same report said the study pictured 40 to 50 booths in year one and possible growth to 100. The final agreement makes the operator responsible for buying huts.
That changes how the market can grow. The operator owns the huts, so adding booths is a business decision for the operator. Dublin Life reported in CityScene that the first season will have about 40 vendors. That matches the contract minimum and sits at the low end of the study's 40 to 100 range. This year is the floor.
The operator brings real experience to that growth. According to the minutes, the selection committee included several city departments, Visit Dublin Ohio and the Downtown Dublin Strategic Alliance. It recommended the firm because CEO Maria Adele Rosenfeld led planning and execution of the Carmel Christkindlmarkt in Indiana from 2017 to 2025. In the city's announcement, she described the goal as building "a place people return to every year because of how it makes them feel."
The collectible is built for return visits
A recurring market needs a reason to come back, and the operator built one into the souvenirs. Each season will have its own Glühwein mug, sold only that year. The city's release calls the 2026 design the first in a series of limited annual mugs. According to 1808Delaware, annual ornaments are planned too. The vendor announcement describes the first mug as a limited-edition boot. No price was posted on the operator's pages as of this writing.
What's in the huts this year
The vendor announcement names local businesses alongside vendors from farther away:
- Die Creperie, also known as Holy Crepes, from Dublin
- Der Französische Laden, or The French Store, also from Dublin
- Say Yes Pretzels, from Columbus
- The Red Stable, from German Village
On the food side, there's raclette scraped straight from the wheel, German döner kebab, schnitzel, käsespätzle, bratwurst, Bavarian pretzels, kartoffelpuffer, flammkuchen and baumstriezel. The Glühwein is imported from Germany. Feuerzangenbowle is made by setting a rum-soaked sugar cone on fire above warm spiced wine. BrewDog Brewing Company is canning a private-label Christkindlmarkt Dublin Dunkel for the market.
Drinks without alcohol include Kinderpunsch, Belgian hot chocolate, cider lattes and Santa Clausthaler, a zero-proof cranberry-cinnamon beer. Retail huts will sell Black Forest cuckoo clocks, beer steins, hand-painted Polish pottery, German nutcrackers, Erzgebirge folk art and mouth-blown glass ornaments from Germany.
The schedule has closed days
The market won't be open every day. Outside Christmas week it closes Mondays and Tuesdays, and weekday hours start late in the afternoon.
| Day | Regular hours |
|---|---|
| Monday and Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday and Thursday | 4 to 9 p.m. |
| Friday and Saturday | Noon to 9 p.m. |
| Sunday | Noon to 8 p.m. |
The schedule changes on these dates:
- Wednesday, Nov. 25: noon to 9 p.m.
- Thursday, Nov. 26: closed for Thanksgiving
- Monday, Dec. 21 through Wednesday, Dec. 23: noon to 9 p.m.
- Thursday, Dec. 24: noon to 4 p.m.
On opening day, the ceremony starts at 10:30 a.m., before the public opening at noon. Dublin's first Christkind will take part. The market created a scholarship program to choose a high school or college student for the role. The student must be available for 20 two-hour appearances between Nov. 18 and Dec. 24, starting with a preview event on Nov. 18. On Sunday, Dec. 6, from 6 to 8 p.m., the market will celebrate Sankt Nikolaustag, the traditional St. Nicholas Day. The operator hasn't released the rest of the entertainment schedule yet. Its site says the schedule is coming soon and that it is looking for German and European musical traditions.
Getting there, and what to leave at home
The operator's own parking page says locations, rideshare drop-off and wayfinding will be posted later. In the meantime, 1808Delaware reports that the market will use on-street parking and Downtown Dublin's public garages, including the Bridge Park, Bridge Park West and Rock Cress garages.
Guests coming from Columbus have a new option this year. Since Sept. 7, COTA's Line 1 Kenny has run from Downtown Columbus to the Ohio State outpatient center in Dublin with no transfer. Buses come every 30 minutes, seven days a week. The Dublin Park and Ride moved to Dale Drive and Bridge Park Avenue, and COTA riders can park free in the Theodore Garage on Mooney Street.
A few rules from the operator's FAQ: pets aren't allowed, vendors take cash and credit cards, and ice skating requires a separate paid ticket. Under the contract, the city still runs the rink. It's a 3,200-square-foot rink in the lower plaza on the east side of the Dublin Link, and it placed eighth in the 2025 USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice Awards. Last season, admission was $15 with skate rental included. As of this writing, the city's rink page still shows last season's details and doesn't list an opening date for 2026–27.
The first weekend of December fills up
The market overlaps with two other holiday events, and all three land in the same four days. The city's annual Tree Lighting is Thursday, Dec. 3, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Coffman Park, 5600 Post Road. It will have caroling, performances, stilt walkers, ice sculpting, reindeer and Santa. On Saturday, Dec. 5, Merry Market at Bridge Park runs from noon to 3 p.m. at 6608 Longshore St., with more than 120 local makers, live music and Santa. Then Sankt Nikolaustag fills the last two hours of the Christkindlmarkt's Sunday on Dec. 6.
Dublin Life reported in CityScene that Rosenfeld sees the market as Dublin's winter event, joining the Irish Festival and the Memorial Tournament on the city's calendar. If the contract runs its full course, the 2026 boot mug will be the first of ten.
A recurring winter market at Riverside Crossing Park will add to the calendar that Downtown Dublin homeowners already live with. If you'd like to understand how events like this play into values and timing near the river, Cece Miller is happy to talk it through. Request a Private Market Consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
