Last December, MLive described the first Harvest to Holiday Market as a two-day indoor shopping event "leading up to downtown's big holiday weekend." In 2025 the market took place on the weeknights before the busy weekend.
This year the market is part of that weekend. The Muskegon Farmers Market moved Harvest to Holiday out of the evenings and into its regular Saturday hours, three weeks in a row. On the busiest of those Saturdays, the barn on Western Avenue opens before anything else downtown.
Two Weeknights in 2025
The inaugural Harvest to Holiday Market ran Thursday, Dec. 11, and Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, at the Farmers Market at 242 W. Western Ave. Vendors set up in the market barn from 5 to 9 p.m. both nights. MLive's list of what to expect included baked goods, jams, honey, wreaths and centerpieces, plus Santa, kids' activities and live music.
The big weekend came the next day. Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, was the downtown Cookie Crawl, and the same MLive piece reported it sold out before the week was over. The barn was also open that Saturday morning, because the market's regular winter market runs inside from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday through April.
That made two separate gatherings in the same building within about 36 hours: a holiday market on weeknight evenings and a regular Saturday winter market. They ran on different hours.
2026 Moves Into Hours the Barn Already Keeps
The 2026 version drops the evenings. The City of Muskegon's event listing calls the expansion "new this year": three Saturdays in a row, Dec. 5, 12 and 19, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the barn. The market's own Nov. 3 announcement gives the same dates and hours.
Those hours are the barn's regular winter hours. The market posts its winter season as December through April, Saturdays only, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. So the holiday market no longer needs its own time slot. It now runs as the first three Saturdays of the winter market, with a different theme each week.
The building can handle that. According to the market's history page, the Western Avenue site has indoor space for winter and special events, 170 vendor stalls, a commercial kitchen and a performance stage.
Here is how the three Saturdays are set up, according to the City's listing:
- Dec. 5: Family fun with Mr. and Mrs. Claus, who arrive at 10 a.m. for family photos and holiday activities.
- Dec. 12: The market is the official first stop of the Downtown Muskegon Cookie Crawl. It is also open for regular holiday shopping, with treats sold directly by vendors.
- Dec. 19: An Ugly Sweater Contest and a $25-and-under gift shop, with every item from local vendors priced under $25.
December 12 Starts at the Barn
The middle Saturday shows the change most clearly. Last year the Cookie Crawl happened the day after the holiday market closed. This year the crawl starts at the market.
The crawl's rules shape the morning. Tins cost $30 and went on sale through Eventbrite on Nov. 12 at 9 a.m., with a limit of two per order. Tin holders pick up their tins on the morning of Dec. 12, between 10 a.m. and noon, at a new location: Route 31 Credit Union, 715 Terrace St., Suite 101. Tins aren't sold at the door and can't be picked up early. The list of stops comes with the empty tin, and one person per party gets a punch card that is marked at each stop. The Visit Muskegon listing gives the crawl hours as 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Each participating business provides more than 200 handmade cookies.
The market doesn't require a tin. The City's listing says the barn is open "whether you are participating in the crawl or just browsing," and vendors sell their own treats. So the market opens an hour before tin pickup and stays open for two hours after it, for anyone who walks in.
The rest of downtown's Dec. 12 schedule fits around those hours:
| Time | What | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Harvest to Holiday Winter Market, first stop of the Cookie Crawl | The Barn, 242 W. Western Ave. | No tin needed |
| 10 a.m. to noon | Cookie Crawl tin pickup | Route 31 Credit Union, 715 Terrace St., Suite 101 | Prepaid $30 tin |
| 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Cookie Crawl stops | Downtown businesses, map provided at pickup | Prepaid tin |
| 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Hot Cocoa Hop & Santa Visit | Muskegon Museum of Art, 296 W. Webster Ave. | Free |
| 3 to 7 p.m. | Holiday Tours | Hackley & Hume Historic Site, 484 W. Webster Ave. | $12 adults, $10 seniors 65+, $5 ages 3 to 12 |
| 6 p.m. | Muskegon Lumberjacks hockey | Trinity Health Arena | Ticketed |
The Muskegon Museum of Art lists the Hot Cocoa Hop as free, and its hours overlap the market's last three. The museum's Festival of Trees will also be up that day. It runs Nov. 25, 2026, through Jan. 3, 2027, with more than 24 trees by artists and decorators and a silent auction.
The afternoon belongs to Webster Avenue. The Hackley & Hume Historic Site opens its decorated houses for self-guided tours from 3 to 7 p.m. No registration is needed, and tickets are sold at the door. The City's Holidays in the City brochure lists a Lumberjacks game at Trinity Health Arena at 6 p.m. that evening.
From the 9 a.m. market opening to the 6 p.m. puck drop, the day runs about nine hours, and the barn now opens it.
Dec. 5 and Dec. 19 Line Up With Downtown
The other two Saturdays work the same way. Hackley & Hume runs its 3 to 7 p.m. holiday tours every Saturday in December, plus Dec. 27 and 28, so all three market Saturdays have a morning in the barn and an afternoon in the houses.
On Dec. 5, Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive at the barn at 10 a.m. The same Saturday, Frauenthal Center hosts two performances of America's Tallest Singing Christmas Tree, which the theater calls its 42nd annual production, with tickets from $18 to $22. That evening the City's brochure lists the Lakeside Tree Lighting at Lakeside Pocket Park at 6 p.m.
Dec. 19 is the last market Saturday before Christmas, with the Ugly Sweater Contest and the $25-and-under gift shop. After that the barn doesn't close. The holiday theme ends, and the same 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday schedule continues as the regular winter market through April.
Before the First Market Saturday
Downtown's season starts a week before the barn's. The City's holiday kickoff is Saturday, Nov. 28, which is also Small Business Saturday across downtown Muskegon and Lakeside. That day includes a Teddy Bear Trail downtown from 9 to 11 a.m. and the Community Tree Lighting at Hackley Park, with the lighting at 6 p.m. Starting that night, Hackley Park's holiday decorations stay lit every day from dusk to 11 p.m. through Jan. 3.
The City says its brochure is a preview, and full event details, pricing and tickets are on the Visit Muskegon calendar at mkgcity.com/holiday. For the barn, the plan is short: Dec. 5, 12 and 19, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 242 W. Western Ave.
If you're spending a December Saturday between the barn on Western Avenue and the houses on Webster and want to know more about life near downtown Muskegon, Buffy Schichtel knows these blocks and the calendar that keeps them busy. Schedule a Free Consultation and we'll talk about where you'd like to be come next December.