In 2023, the first Christkindlmarket on the Bulloch Hall lawn opened the day after Thanksgiving and closed on Christmas Eve. This year the Friends of Bulloch Hall listing puts the opening at Friday, November 20, 2026. That's six days before Thanksgiving, which falls on November 26.
That moves the start of Roswell's holiday season up by a week. Bulloch Hall's own calendar now starts in mid-November. Thanksgiving week falls inside the season instead of before it. December's big public events then pile into two weekends before the market closes on December 23.
Three Seasons, Three Opening Dates
The opening date has moved in only one direction since the market began.
Season | Opens | Closes | Where it was reported |
|---|---|---|---|
2023, first year | Friday, Nov. 24, day after Thanksgiving | Christmas Eve | Appen Media, Roswell Rotary |
2025, third year | Friday, Nov. 21, six days before Thanksgiving | Tuesday, Dec. 23 | Appen Media |
2026 | Friday, Nov. 20, six days before Thanksgiving | Wednesday, Dec. 23 | Friends of Bulloch Hall |
The market has also grown into the Historic District's biggest seasonal draw. The Roswell Rotary Club's account says the idea started with then-Rotary president Alex Kaufman. He loved German Christmas markets from his travels and already had a business relationship with Munich Event Group. Friends of Bulloch was planning a Christmas market on the Bulloch Hall grounds at the same time and asked him to bring the Christkindlmarket there. The Rotary listed more than 70 vendors for that first season. Roswell City Lifestyle reported that more than 100,000 people came to the 2023 market and toured Bulloch Hall, including more than 1,000 who toured the house on opening night. It also reported that Roswell was Munich Event Group's first event in the United States. Those are first-year numbers. No 2026 vendor count or attendance estimate has been published.
The market's own site lists Munich Event Group as the producer, working with the City of Roswell. Roswell365 describes a free German-style market with holiday vendors, a biergarten serving seasonal food and drink, a children's train, and Bulloch Hall decorated in a traditional European style. The plan presented for the first season called for German sausages, chimney cakes and glühwein.
The Week Before the Lawn Fills Up
The earlier opening pulls Bulloch Hall's other holiday events forward too. The house is hosting Christmas High Tea with a tour of its holiday decorations on Sunday, November 15, Monday, November 16 and Wednesday, November 18, from 4 to 6 p.m. each day. All three teas end two to five days before the market's booths open on the front lawn.
Opening weekend has more going on than the market. On Sunday, November 22, at 4 p.m., the Roswell Cultural Arts Center at 950 Forrest Street presents A Little Peace of the Holidays, with vocalist Karla Harris and the Tritone Chamber Orchestra. Tickets are listed from $39.75. The arts center is close by. City Hall shares its parking lots and is the first stop on the market's weekend shuttle.
Once the market opens, it runs every day on this posted schedule:
- Monday through Thursday: 3 to 8 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday: noon to 9 p.m.
- Sunday: noon to 8 p.m.
- Santa photos: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 4 to 7 p.m., no reservations needed
- Admission: free
Thanksgiving Week, Now in the Middle
In 2023, Thanksgiving was the day before the season began. In 2026 it falls in the market's first week. In 2025, Appen Media reported that the market closed on Thanksgiving Day, November 27. The 2026 listing gives dates, hours and admission but says nothing about Thanksgiving. Whether the lawn is open on November 26 is still unannounced.
Thanksgiving week may also bring a new breakfast spot. Toasted Yolk is targeting late November at 1570 Holcomb Bridge Road, Suite 855, either just before or just after Thanksgiving. Business Debut reported that the brunch cafe plans a full bar and that Roswell would be the brand's first Atlanta-market location. As of the latest reports in late September, it had no firm opening day, so for now it's slated rather than scheduled.
How the Historic District Reroutes Around One Lawn
A market expecting crowds like the first year's can't rely on the Bulloch Hall parking lot. Roswell365 lists that lot as accessible parking only. Its market page spreads parking across the Historic District instead. Options include the Roswell City Hall and Cultural Arts Center lots, street parking on Mimosa Boulevard, the Park Square Court lot, three church lots, and paid parking at Platt Family Law.
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a free shuttle runs from 3 to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and from 3 to 8 p.m. on Sundays. It loops through these stops:
- Roswell City Hall
- Roswell United Methodist Church
- Roswell Presbyterian Church
- Roswell First Baptist Church
- Bulloch Hall and the Christkindlmarket
- Back to Roswell City Hall
Ride-hail drop-offs and pickups go to a designated spot near Roswell Town Square, 610 Atlanta Street. The page specifically asks drivers not to stop on Highway 120 or at Bulloch Hall because it backs up traffic. Open containers are allowed in the Historic District for anyone 21 or older, but no outside alcohol is allowed at the market. The Roswell365 page has no date on it. The shuttle hours match what Appen reported for 2025, so this is the usual setup, but nobody has confirmed it for 2026 yet.
The riverfront isn't an option this winter. The city lists Riverside Park at 575 Riverside Road as temporarily closed for renovation, with reopening projected for summer 2027. Its sprayground is closed and Riverside Sounds is on hold, though pedestrian routes are supposed to stay open. With the park closed, Roswell's public holiday events are all in the Historic District, within shuttle range of Bulloch Avenue.
December Packs Into Two Weekends
The market's earlier start lengthens the November half of the season. December still holds most of the big public events, and they land in a tight cluster.
Friday, December 4. The city's annual tree lighting runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at Heart of Roswell Park, 925 Canton Street. Roswell365's listing includes choral performances, hot chocolate, fire pits and s'mores, a reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas by Mayor Mary Robichaux, a visit from Santa, and the lighting of a 40-foot tree. It's free. The market is open until 9 that Friday, so both fit in one evening if you're willing to make the crossing between Canton Street and Bulloch Avenue.
Saturday, December 5. The free, indoor Roswell Makers Market runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Roswell Visual Arts Center, 10495 Woodstock Road. The same day, Roswell Dance Starz performs its holiday show, the Roswell City Spectacular, at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
December 11 through 13. The Nutcracker plays the Roswell Cultural Arts Center four times: Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 1 and 5 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. After that weekend, the market has ten days left. It closes Wednesday, December 23, one day earlier than it did in its first season.
Altogether, the 2026 season runs from the first high tea on November 15 to the market's last night on December 23, and Thanksgiving falls in the middle. No 2026 date for a Roswell Christmas parade had been published as of mid-October.
If you're hosting family over Thanksgiving week and wondering which streets put the Bulloch Hall lawn within an easy walk, I'm glad to help. Bonnie Espy knows the Historic District's blocks and lots, from Mimosa Boulevard to Canton Street, and can show you what's for sale near the parts of Roswell that come alive in December. Work With Bonnie.
