Downtown Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs and Old Colorado City each start the holidays on their own date. Downtown goes first on Friday, Nov. 13, Manitou follows on Nov. 25, and Old Colorado City has its night on Nov. 28. Through November you can attend one district's opening without running into a crowd from the other two.
That spacing ends on the first weekend of December. In 2026 the Old Colorado City Christkindlmarket opens a week earlier than it did in its first year. Its opening weekend now falls on the same Friday, Saturday and Sunday as downtown's First Friday, the Festival of Lights Parade on Tejon Street and the Christmas Parade on Manitou Avenue. From Dec. 4 to Dec. 6, the market is open every day, and each evening it shares with a downtown or Manitou event.
The full sequence:
- Fri., Nov. 13: Acacia Park Holiday Celebration and Tree Lighting, plus opening day for Skate in the Park, downtown
- Wed., Nov. 25: Santa and the tree lighting at the Town Clock, Manitou Springs
- Sat., Nov. 28: The Christmas Stroll on West Colorado Avenue, Old Colorado City
- Fri., Dec. 4 through Sun., Dec. 6: Christkindlmarket opening weekend, Festival of Lights Parade and Manitou Christmas Parade, all on the same three days
Downtown opens first, on a Friday the 13th
On the downtown calendar, two seasonal openings share the evening of Nov. 13. The Downtown Partnership lists a community caroling singalong with the Soli deo Gloria Choir at the Acacia Park bandshell from 5 to 5:45 p.m. The annual Holiday Celebration and Tree Lighting follows at 6 p.m.
The rink opens the same day. Skate in the Park is set up in Acacia Park at 115 E. Platte Ave. this season. The Downtown Partnership's event listing has it running from 4 p.m. on Nov. 13, 2026, through Jan. 31, 2027. Admission is $15 and includes skates. Active-duty military and first responders get $2 off, and children 4 and under skate free with a paying adult. Tickets are sold onsite only, and card payments carry a 3% processing fee. According to Visit Colorado Springs, session times vary, so check the rink's schedule before you plan around a specific hour.
If you're downtown that evening, two Tejon Street businesses are new this season. Easy's Records & Vintage opened Sept. 10 at 327 N. Tejon St. and, as Springs Magazine reported, gave downtown back a standalone record shop. A few blocks south, Stoney's Bar & Grill opened Sept. 2 at 118 N. Tejon St. in the former Oskar Blues space, according to Springs Magazine.
The west side opens around Thanksgiving
After downtown's start, the west side waits almost two weeks. Then its two openings fall on either side of Thanksgiving.
Visit Manitou lists Santa and the tree lighting at the Town Clock on Nov. 25 from 5 to 7 p.m. Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov. 26, so the lighting is the night before.
Two days after Thanksgiving, Old Colorado City has its turn. The Christmas Stroll runs Saturday, Nov. 28, from 4 to 7 p.m. along West Colorado Avenue. Santa photos and live reindeer are listed for Bancroft Park.
So far each district has had its own date: a Friday downtown, a Wednesday in Manitou and a Saturday in Old Colorado City, spread over about two weeks. Bancroft Park, where the reindeer stand on Nov. 28, changes that next.
The market that moved up a week
The Old Colorado City Christkindlmarket made its debut in December 2025. Its first run had 10 wooden vendor huts and a heated tent called the Bank of America Alpenhütte, with a stage for nightly entertainment. The German American Chamber of Commerce, Colorado Chapter, produces the market. FOX21 reported that the chamber works with the Old Colorado City Partnership and Old Colorado City Associates. In January, the chamber announced a bigger site, more vendors and more dates for 2026.
Here are the two years' calendars, side by side.
| 2025 market | 2026 market | |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | Dec. 11–14 and 18–23 | Dec. 4–6, 9–13 and 16–23 |
| Operating days | 10 | 16 |
| Opening day | Thursday, Dec. 11 | Friday, Dec. 4 |
| Hours | Noon to 8 p.m. | Noon to 8 p.m. |
| Admission | Free | Free |
The Colorado Springs Gazette published the 2025 dates and hours and noted that the market was free to enter. The 2026 dates come from the market's own site, and Visit Colorado Springs lists the market as free and open to all. In a follow-up story, the Gazette reported that the first market had 14 local vendors.
The six added days come mostly from an earlier start. The 2025 market opened in mid-December, after the area's big parade weekend. The 2026 market opens on the parade weekend itself.
Dec. 4 to 6, evening by evening
Here is how that first weekend lines up across the three districts:
| Evening | Old Colorado City | Downtown | Manitou Springs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Market open noon to 8 p.m. | First Friday, 5 to 9 p.m. | None listed |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Market open noon to 8 p.m. | Festival of Lights Parade on Tejon Street, 5:50 p.m. | None listed |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | Market open noon to 8 p.m. | None listed | Christmas Parade on Manitou Avenue, 6 p.m. |
Friday's overlap comes from downtown's regular monthly event. The Downtown Partnership describes First Friday as free and open to the public, with new art, live music and special events from 5 to 9 p.m. at dozens of locations on the first Friday of every month. In 2026, the first Friday of December is the market's opening day.
Saturday has the biggest overlap. The Festival of Lights Parade is set for Saturday, Dec. 5, at 5:50 p.m. on Tejon Street, and the organizer calls this year's parade the 42nd annual. The market stays open until 8 p.m. that night, so for about two hours both downtown and West Colorado Avenue will have evening holiday crowds.
On Sunday the overlap moves to Manitou. Visit Manitou lists the Christmas Parade on Manitou Avenue at 6 p.m. on Dec. 6. The market is open that evening too, and West Colorado Avenue in Old Colorado City sits between downtown and Manitou on the west side.
The weekend can work in your favor. A Saturday afternoon at Bancroft Park can easily end at the Tejon Street parade, and on Sunday the market's last hours run alongside Manitou's parade. Each event alone is easy to plan for, but on the same weekend they compete for the same parking and the same evening hours.
What the organizers have not announced yet
A few details for the market's second year are still open. The official site says entertainment bookings for 2026 are underway but doesn't list performers or a schedule. The chamber has announced a bigger site and more vendors without saying how many huts or vendors there will be. The market's site still describes the Bank of America Alpenhütte as a heated, ski-themed tent with a bar, open seating and a stage for daily entertainment. For parking, last year's Gazette guide pointed visitors to nearby paid lots and free street parking.
One merchandise detail is confirmed. The market says it ordered more souvenir mugs for 2026 and will sell a very limited number of commemorative steins made in Germany. It hasn't posted prices.
After the first weekend, the market has the west side mostly to itself
From Dec. 9 to 13, the market runs five straight days, Wednesday through Sunday. The final stretch runs eight days, from Wednesday, Dec. 16, through Wednesday, Dec. 23, with the same noon to 8 p.m. hours every day. Both stretches start midweek, and none of the parades or tree lightings on this calendar fall on those dates. Skate in the Park is open downtown through the whole season, and the market closes for the year on Dec. 23.
Want the full calendar next to your closing timeline? Our escrow teams can line up December dates with you. December closings in Colorado Springs land in the busiest stretch of the holiday calendar, and a named escrow team that plans signing appointments around it keeps the file on schedule. If you have a transaction set to close between Thanksgiving and Christmas, First Alliance Title can schedule a mobile or in-office closing that works with your December calendar. Place Order to get your file started.
