"In Senoia, the city is the destination for visitors, not just our market." That is how Marco Foelske, COO of GA Events Corp., described the plan to The Citizen in October. His company runs the Atlanta Christkindl Market, and this year it is opening a second location at 158 Seavy Street, a short walk from Main Street.
The quote explains the market's design. It is small by design and open late on weeknights. Its two biggest weekends are also the weekends of Senoia's own longtime traditions. For four weeks starting Black Friday, a German Christmas market becomes part of downtown, and the town's holiday calendar is built around it.
Senoia Asked, and the Market Came South
The Atlanta Christkindl Market has been running since 2016 and has moved several times. A 2017 entry from Atlanta's sister-cities organization describes the market's second year at Atlantic Station. Centennial Olympic Park also hosted it at one point, according to Global Atlanta. After several years in a Buckhead Village parking lot, it moved in 2025 to the Lawrenceville Lawn, next to that city's main square.
Global Atlanta reported this summer that the move to Lawrenceville paid off. More parking let hundreds of thousands of people visit, and organizers had always wanted the market to sit inside a real town, like the wooden-booth villages that fill German town squares every December. With a multi-year agreement signed in Lawrenceville, the company looked for a second town. The same report says the idea of heading south came from Senoia, and Foelske called the city's call "welcome."
"It's very romantic, historical old-town USA as well, and it fits our style of being an authentic German market," he told Global Atlanta.
A Smaller Market by Design
Senoia's market will be about half the size of the Lawrenceville market running at the same time.
| Senoia | Lawrenceville | |
|---|---|---|
| Booths | About 50 | About 100, up from 75 |
| Vendors | About 35, curated | About 70 to 80 |
| Centerpiece | 15- to 20-foot German Christmas pyramid | 50-foot Christmas tree and a 100-foot Ferris wheel |
| Season | Four weeks, opening Black Friday | Five weeks, opening Nov. 20 |
Global Atlanta put it this way: Senoia "will focus on intimacy over spectacle." The two markets will share many favorite vendors. Senoia will also have local artisans of its own, and The Citizen's announcement says the market will sit "in a tree-lined area" off Main Street.
With a pyramid as the centerpiece, much of Senoia's draw is the food and the gifts. The menu includes chimney cakes, bratwurst, raclette, roasted nuts, hot chocolate and Glühwein. Vendors will sell ornaments, décor, jewelry, toys and handcrafted gifts. At a booth this size, a visit can be a cup of Glühwein, one lap of the booths, and then dinner on Main Street.
November Fills Up Before the Booths Arrive
The market opens into a downtown calendar that is already busy. Three November events come first:
- Autumn Nights at The Veranda, Saturdays Nov. 7, 14 and 21, 4 to 9 p.m., with local vendors, fall shopping and seasonal treats. The listing on the Senoia DDA's site credits The Veranda Historic Inn.
- Senoia Alive After Five, Friday, Nov. 20, 5 to 9 p.m., at 68 Main Street, with support from the DDA.
- The 2026 Senoia Turkey Trot 5K, Saturday, Nov. 21 at 8 a.m., at Gin Property.
The Saturday before Thanksgiving week is the busiest. It starts with the Turkey Trot and ends with the last Autumn Nights evening. Six days after that, the market opens.
Four Weeks, Wednesday Through Sunday
The market's own page lists these hours:
- Opening day: Black Friday, Nov. 27
- Wednesdays and Thursdays: 3 to 9 p.m.
- Fridays through Sundays: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Christmas week, Monday, Dec. 21 through Wednesday, Dec. 23: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Christmas Eve, Thursday, Dec. 24: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the last day
Counted day by day, that comes to 22 open days between Black Friday and Christmas Eve. The schedule has no Monday or Tuesday hours until Christmas week. The 3 p.m. weekday opening means someone coming home from work can stop by on a Wednesday or Thursday evening without making it a weekend outing. Admission is free.
The market's main entrance and drop-off point is 158 Seavy Street. Its page points visitors to street parking around downtown and several nearby lots. Santa photos at the market are free, and visitors take their own pictures.
The Market Is Open on Senoia's Two Biggest December Dates
Because of those hours, the market is open both afternoons that downtown Senoia gets busiest each December.
Saturday, Dec. 5: Light Up Senoia. The DDA's schedule runs through the evening:
- 4 p.m.: Santa's Workshop opens at the Senoia Farmers' Market, 40 Travis Street
- 4:15 p.m.: Pre-parade entertainment starts in front of the stage on Main Street
- 6 p.m.: Santa's Workshop closes, and the crowd moves toward Main Street
- 6:30 p.m.: The parade begins
- After the parade: The Main Street tree lighting, followed by Santa greeting visitors on his sleigh until 8:30 p.m.
This year's parade theme is "Christmas Through the Decades." Floats from local businesses, schools, churches and organizations will be judged on that theme for trophies. The market is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. that day, so it is open before Santa's Workshop starts and still open half an hour after Santa's last sleigh visit.
Sunday, Dec. 13: the Candlelight Tour of Homes. The DDA's annual tour has eight downtown stops from 3 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 and went on sale Oct. 31. Tour booklets can be picked up at the Senoia Welcome Center, 68 Main Street, starting Monday, Dec. 7. The Welcome Center is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and opens at noon on Sundays. Its phone number is (770) 727-9173. The DDA asks people not to buy or sell tour tickets online and to work with Welcome Center staff instead, because "too many people have been scammed trying to buy or sell tickets on Facebook." On tour day, the market opens four hours before the first stop and closes an hour after the last one.
What the Market Brings That Senoia Didn't Have
According to Global Atlanta, Foelske said one feature is unique to the Senoia market. Steinbach, the German company known for collectible hand-crafted wooden nutcrackers and named for its home town near Dresden, will set up a workshop off the town square where visitors can learn about its craft. The same report says the market expects to draw German companies in the south metro, along with their clients and employees, because they are close by.
Spending at the market also supports a cause. Market proceeds fund educational exchanges and German language and cultural programs through the German-American Cultural Foundation. Foelske told Global Atlanta that with Lawrenceville's extra week and the new Senoia location, "I think we could break half a million" visitors across both markets this season.
The Citizen's announcement says the Senoia location brings the market close to home for people in Coweta County, Fayette County, Peachtree City and nearby communities. The booths stay up from Black Friday through Christmas Eve in the same downtown as the Main Street stage, the Farmers' Market on Travis Street and the eight stops on the Candlelight Tour.
Our team calls the south side home, and we're looking forward to wandering the booths on Seavy Street like everyone else this December. If you'd like a few favorite downtown Senoia stops to pair with your market visit, or you just want to talk about what's changing around town, the Joe Carbone Team is always glad to hear from you. Get in touch.
