"After 7 years of making Christmas memories in Uptown Charlotte as an authentic European market, we have transitioned to become Charlotte's finest holiday pop-up retailer!" That line now opens the Charlotte Christmas Village website. Below it is a list of the events where its shops will turn up this season.
The market opened in 2016 at Romare Bearden Park, with German food, beer, Glühwein and Santa on weekends. Charlotte on the Cheap advertised that first run as November 24 through December 24. By 2021 it was at Truist Field, running alongside Light the Knights. WSOC described a menu of bratwurst, schnitzel, strudel, Glühwein, hot cider, beer and hot chocolate, plus handmade gifts and live entertainment.
In 2026 the market doesn't have one address. Its two shops, Hans and Heidi's Holiday Haus and Village Bakery, now move through three Charlotte host events between November 11 and January 3, and Village Bakery also has a listing at the Hickory Christmas Show. The Glühwein, Santa and the European market feel are still around, but they're split across Briar Creek Road, South Mint Street, Yancey Road and Bowl Street. Which pieces you find depends on the date you go.
November 11 to 22: Olde Towne, inside the Southern Christmas Show
The first stop opens 10 days before anything else on this list. The 59th annual Southern Christmas Show runs November 11 through 22 at The Park Expo and Conference Center, 800 Briar Creek Road. Hans and Heidi's Holiday Haus is at Olde Town Shops #30. The show's guide describes Olde Towne as a village-style shopping area: handcrafted jewelry, ornaments, wreaths and pottery displayed behind snow-dusted windows.
This stop has the most rules of the three, so here they are as a list:
- Admission: $22 for adults 13 and up on weekdays, $25 on weekends, $12 for ages 6 to 12. Children 5 and under get in free. Online tickets add a $1 service fee per ticket.
- Early Bird VIP: $28 before fees, for Saturday, November 14 only.
- Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday.
- Parking: $12 per car, or $25 for valet while spaces last. The lots take cards, but the show prefers exact cash. Shriners run free golf-cart shuttles from most of the more than 4,000 spaces.
On a weekend, two adults pay $50 at the gate plus $12 to park. That's $62 before anyone buys an ornament, so this is the most expensive way to reach the Village's shops this season. It's also the only one open before Thanksgiving week.
November 21: The Bowl opens a rink across from OMB Ballantyne's address
One date in this calendar has nothing to do with the Village, but it affects how the December weekends play out. Ice Skating at The Bowl opens Saturday, November 21, at TD Amp Ballantyne, 11115 Upper Avenue, and runs through January 10. Ballantyne lists admission at $20 with skate rental included, $15 for children 5 and under, and $18 if you bring your own skates. Regular hours are 4 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday. The rink is also a donation site for Ballantyne Families Helping Neighbors in Need.
OMB's Ballantyne brewery is at 15025 Bowl Street. Once OMB's market starts, one Ballantyne outing can cover skating, a Christmas market and Glühwein.
November 25 to January 3: Village Bakery behind the center-field fence
Light the Knights returns to Truist Field, 324 S Mint Street, on Wednesday, November 25, and runs through January 3, 2027. Charlotte on the Cheap's 2026 rundown lists a regulation-size ice rink on the field, a 150-foot multi-lane snow tubing slope in right field, holiday lights, live entertainment, gift vendors and Santa. Santa photos are free with admission if you bring your own phone or camera. Village Bakery and Hans and Heidi's Holiday Haus are both set up behind the center-field fence.
You'll find more of the old Village here than at any other stop. The two Village shops sit inside a ballpark holiday market that the Charlotte Knights describe as local vendors selling gifts, baked goods and clothing. Admission only costs $14.37. Admission plus skating and tubing costs $44.40, and you can't buy skating or tubing on its own.
The schedule has gaps. Light the Knights is closed on these dates:
- Thursday, November 26, for Thanksgiving
- Monday, November 30, through Wednesday, December 2
- Monday, December 7, through Wednesday, December 9
- Monday, December 14, through Wednesday, December 16
- Thursday, December 24, and Friday, December 25
For three weeks in a row, the ballpark is dark Monday through Wednesday. Daily hours vary, so check the Knights' hours page before you head Uptown on a weeknight.
November 27 to December 20: Glühwein comes back, at two breweries
Uptown no longer has a Glühwein market. The closest match is the OMB Christmas Market, which OMB lists as free and open to all ages. It runs four weekends at both OMB LoSo, 4150 Yancey Road, and OMB Ballantyne, 15025 Bowl Street. OMB promises more than 50 local vendors, traditional German Glühwein in a collectible 2026 mug, a holiday food menu alongside the Brauhaus menu, hot cocoa, specialty cocktails, OMB beers on draft, fire pits, holiday lights and live entertainment. Santa visits both locations on Saturdays from 2 to 5 p.m., and families take their own photos.
The market weekends are November 27 to 29, December 4 to 6, December 11 to 13, and December 18 to 20. Vendors keep the same hours each weekend except on Friday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the opening Friday and noon to 9 p.m. after that. Saturdays run noon to 9 p.m. and Sundays noon to 7 p.m. Both breweries host all four weekends. Hans and Heidi's Holiday Haus moves between them, though. The Village site puts it in Ballantyne for the first two weekends and at LoSo for the last two.
So if one particular ornament stall is the reason you go, Ballantyne is the place before December 7 and LoSo is the place after.
Every December weekend has two options at once
Light the Knights closes only on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in early December, so it's scheduled to be open every weekend OMB runs its market. On any Saturday from November 28 to December 19, you can find Village Bakery at Truist Field, a Glühwein market at two OMB breweries, Santa at three different places, and outdoor skating both Uptown and in Ballantyne. The old Village gave you all of that at one gate.
| Dates | Where | Village shop on site | Cost to get in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 11–22 | Southern Christmas Show, The Park Expo, 800 Briar Creek Rd | Hans and Heidi's, Olde Town Shops #30 | $22 to $25 adults, $12 ages 6–12, $12 parking |
| Nov 21–Jan 10 | Ice Skating at The Bowl, 11115 Upper Ave | None | $20, $15 ages 5 and under, $18 with own skates |
| Nov 25–Jan 3, closures listed above | Light the Knights, Truist Field, 324 S Mint St | Village Bakery and Hans and Heidi's | $14.37, or $44.40 with skating and tubing |
| Nov 27–29 and Dec 4–6 | OMB Ballantyne, 15025 Bowl St, and OMB LoSo | Hans and Heidi's at Ballantyne | Free |
| Dec 11–13 and Dec 18–20 | OMB LoSo, 4150 Yancey Rd, and OMB Ballantyne | Hans and Heidi's at LoSo | Free |
There's a short gap at the start of the season. The Southern Christmas Show closes Sunday, November 22, and Light the Knights opens Wednesday, November 25. After that, from Thanksgiving weekend through December 20, the season is more spread out than the old market and easier to fit around your own side of town.
If planning around Briar Creek Road, Mint Street and Bowl Street has you thinking about which part of Charlotte suits your weekends, Maldonado Group can talk it through with you in English or Spanish. We can start with what your current home is worth. Get Home Value (Obtener valor de la casa).
