October 22, 2026
Last November, Jefferson's Holiday Market opened with a public Dessert and Cider Reception on Friday night. Admission was $8, and the Jackson Herald reported that the ticket was good for the whole weekend. This year the market opens on a Friday again, Nov. 6, at the Jefferson Civic Center on Kissam Street. But the City of Jefferson's 2026 vendor packet lists the dessert reception from 4 to 5 p.m. as a vendor event. Public doors open "promptly at 6pm."
The city hasn't announced a public reception for 2026. The packet is the most complete 2026 schedule anyone has published, and it shows how the weekend is built. Friday is a short evening and Sunday is a half day. Saturday gets more than half the market's open hours.
Many roundups still show the 2025 dates. AccessNorth's weekend guide listed the market for Nov. 7 to 9, 2025. The city's event calendar has this year's run as Nov. 6 to 8, 2026, at 65 Kissam Street.
| 2025 market | 2026 market | |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | Fri. Nov. 7 to Sun. Nov. 9 | Fri. Nov. 6 to Sun. Nov. 8 |
| Friday | 6 to 9 p.m., public Dessert and Cider Reception | 6 to 9 p.m.; dessert reception listed for vendors, 4 to 5 p.m. |
| Saturday | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Sunday | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Admission | $8 Friday, $3 Saturday, $2 Sunday, good all weekend | Not yet published |
There will be a door charge. The packet says vendors and booth workers who arrive without passes will be admitted "through the main entrance at the appropriate admission charge." If you want this year's prices, or want to know whether a public reception will be added, the city's contact for the event is 706-367-5754 or [email protected].
Add up the 2026 hours and the market is open to the public for 17 hours: 3 on Friday, 9 on Saturday and 5 on Sunday. Saturday is the only day you can browse in the morning, break for lunch and come back in the afternoon without watching the clock.
Sunday doesn't get a smaller lineup, though. Every vendor signs on for all three days, booths must be staffed whenever the market is open, and nobody can start breaking down before 4 p.m. Sunday. The rules say vendors who don't follow the three-day requirement won't be accepted at future city events. So the vendors you see Saturday should still be there Sunday, with five hours of browsing instead of nine.
The packet also describes what's for sale. It calls the event "a one stop holiday shopping opportunity" that "is not exclusively a craft show." Booths are judged on quality, originality, creativity and how good the display looks. All arts and crafts media are eligible, buy/sell items are allowed in limited numbers, and booths that only hand out information aren't allowed. Brands like Pampered Chef, Scentsy, Mary Kay and Thirty-One get one representative each. You won't walk past three candle-party tables in a row.
Food vendors keep their own schedule, and it runs wider than the market on both ends:
Food vendors are told to be ready to sell by 4 p.m. Friday and to stay open 30 minutes after closing each day. On Sunday they can stay open up to an hour after close. On Saturday that adds a half hour at each end: coffee and breakfast at 8:30 before the 9 a.m. opening, and a last snack after the shopping floor closes at 6.
The city wants vendors out of the good spots. Starting Friday, Nov. 6, vendors are asked to park "in the very back of the gravel parking lot" to keep the premium spaces for customers. The rules say it again: vendors use the back gravel lot "to keep the premium spots, open for the customers."
Set-up stays out of the public's way too. Vendors load in Thursday, Nov. 5, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. No vehicles are allowed in the outdoor vendor area after 3 p.m. Friday. By the time doors open Friday evening, the trucks and trailers are parked and out of the way.
Saturday has the most market hours, and a few other events that day fit around them.
The Fall Frolic starts at 4 and the market closes at 6, so doing both means leaving the Civic Center early. Shopping in the morning and heading to Commerce in the afternoon covers both. For families with younger kids, the library also has Storytime on Friday, Nov. 6, from 10:30 to 11 a.m., hours before the market opens. The library's calendar for Sunday, Nov. 8, says no events are scheduled. The city's November calendar lists the Holiday Market as the only community event that weekend.
If you drive Jett Roberts Road, check one more date. The city closed the northbound lane of Jett Roberts Road between McClure Industrial Drive and Dry Pond Road starting Sept. 25, for "an estimated period of 40 days." Forty days from Sept. 25 is Nov. 4, two days before the market opens.
That's an estimate, and the lane closure is just one phase of a bigger project. The city's construction alert describes a new traffic circle at Dry Pond Road and Jett Roberts Road, with detours that change from phase to phase. The city hasn't published a completion date for the traffic circle. Check the alert the week of the market before you count on the lane being open.
The Holiday Market is the first big event of Jefferson's season. The next two dates on the calendar fall five days and four weeks after it closes.
The Crawford W. Long Museum's Santa photos last year were on Dec. 6, 2025. The museum's events page currently lists only the Fall Frolic for November 2026 and no holiday program yet.
For the Holiday Market itself, Saturday, Nov. 7, is the longest day, and food starts at 8:30 a.m.
Holiday events are when Jefferson's homes get photographed in their best light, with porches decorated and the Square busy. If you're thinking about listing in early 2027, NP Sells Homes can plan your photos and launch timing now, so your listing goes live while that seasonal appeal still shows. Get a Free Seller Strategy.
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