Opening day announced for this year’s Christkindlmarket in Aurora

This year’s Christkindlmarket in Aurora will open on Friday, Nov. 20, at RiverEdge Park, event organizers announced on Thursday.

The popular Christmas-time German-American market has made RiverEdge Park in Aurora its suburban home since 2022.

Aurora’s Christkindlmarket saw 220,000 visitors last year.

The holiday market in Aurora is organized by German American Events, the group that will also operate the Christkindlmarkets at Daley Plaza and Gallagher Way in Wrigleyville in Chicago during the holidays.

All three locations offer free admission and will open on Friday, Nov. 20. The Chicago Daley Plaza and Aurora markets will run through Christmas Eve, Thursday, Dec. 24, while the Wrigleyville market will remain open through New Year’s Eve, Thursday, Dec. 31, organizers said in a press release.

The Christkindlmarket Aurora at RiverEdge Park at 360 N. Broadway will be open Thursdays to Sundays from Nov. 20 to Dec. 24, along with additional weekday dates, according to the release. It will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

There will be special hours of operation at the Aurora location from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25; from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving (Nov. 26) and Christmas Eve (Dec. 24); and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 21, through Wednesday, Dec. 23, the release said.

Aurora will once again be the largest Christkindlmarket location, with more than 60 vendors across RiverEdge Park’s expanded campus, organizers said.

New additions this year in Aurora will include A Little Slice of Europe, featuring European cheeses; Biro Kurtos, serving chimney cakes; and Steincenter, offering a new selection of steins.

In addition to the Aurora location, the annual Christkindlmarket will return to Daley Plaza and Gallagher Way in Chicago.

The Christkindlmarket Chicago at Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington St., will be open daily from Nov. 20 through Dec. 24. Its hours will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sundays through Thursdays, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays. There will be special hours of 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving (Nov. 26) and Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), organizers said.

The Christkindlmarket Wrigleyville at Gallagher Way, 3635 N. Clark St., will be open daily from Nov. 20 through Dec. 31. The market hours will be 3 to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays, with special hours of 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving (Nov. 26), Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), and New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31).

Christkindlmarket Wrigleyville will be closed on Christmas Day (Dec. 25).