Bethlehem's Christmas City Season Opens One Weekend at a Time. Here's the Order.

Bethlehem's 2026 holiday season starts Friday, Nov. 13, at a ticket gate on the South Side. Over the next three weekends the free pieces open one at a time, mostly on the north side of the river, around the Sun Inn Courtyard and Payrow Plaza. By the first weekend of December the free programming crosses back over the Lehigh to a new building on West Third Street. If you live here, the season works best as a sequence. Pay for the market once, or use its free hours. Most of the rest costs nothing as long as you know which weekend each piece opens.

The South Side opens first, behind a gate

Christkindlmarkt returns to PNC Plaza at SteelStacks for six blocks of dates between Nov. 13 and Dec. 20. The three November blocks run Friday through Sunday. In December the market adds Thursdays, with blocks on Dec. 3 to 6, 10 to 13 and 17 to 20. It is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays and Sundays and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

It also draws the season's biggest crowds. WFMZ reported that the 2025 market set a record with 145,552 visitors, close to 14% more than the year before. This year ArtsQuest expects more than 200 artisans, crafters and retailers from 18 states and Scotland, along with seven food vendors.

On ArtsQuest's ticket page, admission is $14 all-in on Thursdays and Fridays and $16.50 all-in on weekends. Children 5 and under get in free, and so do ArtsQuest members at Silver level and above. On Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m., ArtsQuest waives the fees and entry is free. That gives you three free evenings in November alone: Nov. 13, Nov. 20 and Nov. 27. The Nov. 27 window opens just as the Payrow Plaza tree lighting is finishing on the other side of the river.

A few rules here differ from the rest of the season. The market is cashless for admission, food, drinks and official merchandise, though individual artisans may choose to take cash. Pets other than trained service dogs are not permitted.

ArtsQuest made several changes for 2026. Heated igloos double from four to eight. Each igloo can be reserved for two hours, holds up to six guests and comes with a fireplace, a Bethlehem-branded blanket and a gallon box of hot chocolate. The rental includes admission for two. A new bag check inside the Bethlehem Visitor Center at SteelStacks charges a nominal fee, so you don't have to carry purchases around the market. Breakfast with St. Nick, Breakfast with Bluey and Bingo, the Old Fashioned Christmas tastings and Sip 'n' Shop all return.

Saturday, Main Street answers with a passport and its storefronts

One day after the market opens, Main Street holds its first holiday event, and it is ticketed too. The Red and Green Holiday Cocktail Trails run Saturday, Nov. 14, from noon to 5 p.m. The Silver and Gold Trails follow on Nov. 21 at the same hours. Passports cost $45, you must be 21 or older, each person gets one trail, and registration is at Hyatt Place Bethlehem at 45 W. North St. Stops include La Petite Provence on Main, which pours a mocktail, plus Fegley's Bethlehem Brew Works and Tapas on Main.

The free part of Nov. 14 is in the store windows. The Downtown Bethlehem Association's holiday window-decorating competition runs from Nov. 14 through Dec. 21. Visitors vote for their favorite display, and Visit Historic Bethlehem will announce the winner on its social media on Dec. 22. That stretch covers the whole season. Every Main Street event after this one happens with the voting windows in view.

Nov. 20: the free courtyard opens a week behind the market

Main Street's version of a holiday market opens the following Friday. The Christmas City Village fills the Sun Inn Courtyard with wooden huts from Nov. 20 through Dec. 20. It is open Fridays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and admission is free.

This year the courtyard gets more lighting. The Valley Ledger reported that the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Bethlehem Association are adding illuminated decorations in the courtyard trees, greenery on the Village huts and a lit oversized present on the patio for photos. Beyond the courtyard, illuminated Bethlehem Stars will hang on the lampposts the Bethlehem Parking Authority installed last year. A Northampton County Hotel Tax Grant and the Parking Authority are paying for the stars.

Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites is adding something new nearby. Holidays at the Bethlehem Blacksmith Shop dresses the Smithy just off Main Street with exterior uplights on the stone walls and flame-flicker lighting inside that recreates the glow of the forge. Outside are illuminated trees and a vintage-carriage photo backdrop. A canvas tent holds artisan demonstrators and a handmade-gift shop, and new gas fire pits sit near the pottery site. In November the Smithy is open Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. Those weekend days line up with the Village's, so one Main Street afternoon can cover the courtyard huts and the forge.

Thanksgiving weekend lights both sides of the river, one evening apart

The day after Thanksgiving is when the city officially starts the season. The Christmas City tree lighting at Payrow Plaza, 10 E. Church St., begins at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 27. The program includes live performances, a community sing, free hot chocolate and cookies, and a visit from Santa, and the tree itself is lit around 5 p.m., according to Discover Lehigh Valley. Historic Bethlehem's free Wassail Party follows right after, with colonial trade demonstrations, apple cider and samples of Moravian sugar cake. That evening is also a free Friday at Christkindlmarkt, so you can cross the river after the lighting and walk the market at no charge until 8 p.m.

The South Side has its own tree lighting the next evening. The Southside Bethlehem Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration runs Saturday, Nov. 28, from 5 to 6 p.m. on S. New St., between 306 and 324. Expect carols, local musicians, free cocoa and warm cider, and homemade cookies from Roasted and ZEST Bar + Grille.

Santa's Haus also opens in the Sun Inn Courtyard that Saturday. It runs Nov. 28 and 29 and the weekends of Dec. 5 and 6, Dec. 12 and 13, and Dec. 19 and 20, from 1 to 4 p.m. Photos are free, you take them on your own phone or camera, and pets are welcome. Since pets are not allowed at Christkindlmarkt, Santa's Haus is the season's main photo stop that welcomes your dog.

December makes 5:30 p.m. a nightly event on Main Street

Starting Dec. 1, Main Street has something free every night. The Live Advent Calendar, now in its 18th year, takes place in the Sun Inn Courtyard at 564 Main St. at 5:30 p.m. each evening through Dec. 23. Each program lasts about 10 to 15 minutes and is presented by a local shop, restaurant or community organization. The Downtown Bethlehem Association's merchants produce it with Touchstone Theater and Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites.

The City of Bethlehem's events calendar lists the hosts by night. Some of the dates worth planning around:

• Dec. 1: Citizens Christmas City Committee
• Dec. 2: Zoellner Arts Center
• Dec. 5: Bethlehem Parking Authority and Bitty & Beau's Coffee Shop
• Dec. 6: The Bach Choir of Bethlehem
• Dec. 8: Edge Restaurant, which hosts again on Dec. 22
• Dec. 12: Central Moravian Church
• Dec. 19: Dream Boyd Theatre
• Dec. 21: Donegal Square

As December goes on, the rest of Main Street opens more often to match the nightly calendar. The Blacksmith Shop moves to Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., from Dec. 1 to 10. From Dec. 11 it is open daily, closing only on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. December weekends add hands-on kids' activities such as weaving and tin punching. By mid-December, the area around the Sun Inn Courtyard has something going on every day of the week.

Dec. 5 and 6: the free programming crosses back to the South Side

The last layer brings the free programming back to the South Side. ArtsQuest's Holiday Pop-Up Artist Market is moving into the ArtsQuest Creative Factory powered by PPL on Dec. 5 and 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and entry is free. The building is at 25 W. Third St. Last year the market featured 15 emerging regional artists. ArtsQuest is building this year's edition around locally made work. Three of the building's studio artists, Deming King Harriman, Chris Severn and Gabriella Gentile, will have work in the market.

For many people, that weekend will be the first time inside the building. ArtsQuest describes the Creative Factory as a five-story, 80,000-square-foot hub for visual arts and education on the site of the former Banana Factory. Plans include studios for jewelry, mosaics, ceramics and hot glass, a recording studio, a media lab and a maker space. WFMZ reported that the building will hold 36 artist studios, nine classrooms and a comedy theater, with a full grand opening celebration planned for January 2027. At 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, the Bethlehem Parking Authority and Bitty & Beau's Coffee Shop host the Advent Calendar in the Sun Inn Courtyard. On Sunday, Dec. 6, the Bach Choir of Bethlehem takes the slot. That makes the first December weekend one of the easiest times this season to see both sides of the river for free.

The pop-up market returns on Dec. 20 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., this time inside Christkindlmarkt's Winter Wonderland, where market admission covers entry. It's the last day of both Christkindlmarkt and the Christmas City Village.

If this season has you thinking about which Bethlehem blocks keep you within walking distance of the courtyard or the SteelStacks gate, The Cliff Lewis Experience knows these streets in December as well as in spring. Contact Us whenever you're ready to talk it through.