"We are becoming somewhat victims of what has become a very crowded campus during the holiday season." Jeff McDermott, CEO of the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts, said that to the Carmel City Council on Oct. 19, as Current in Carmel reported. He was talking about the Carmel Christkindlmarkt, the holiday market on Carter Green. It opens Saturday, Nov. 21, and runs through Dec. 24.
The Center's own numbers show the cost. McDermott told the council that holiday ticket sales at the Center are down 20 percent since 2023 and attendance is down 24 percent, about $66,000 in lost revenue. Over the same years, the rate of people who buy a ticket to a holiday show and then don't come has grown to almost double the rate at other shows. According to the same report, Hotel Carmichael is usually sold out during market season, but its guests report their lowest satisfaction of the year during those weeks.
The market, the Palladium, the Tarkington and Hotel Carmichael share one small campus, and one garage system, during the five busiest weeks of their year. For anyone who lives in Carmel, that turns the season into a scheduling question. When you go matters more than where you park.
A Bigger Market on the Same Square
The market will be larger this year. Its 2026 directory lists more than 60 huts. WISH-TV reported 50 huts for the 2025 season. One addition is Ino Schaller Papiermaché, which the directory marks as a new vendor. It sells paper-mâché ornaments and figurines, including decorated Santas. Visit Hamilton County lists Brathaus as new for 2026, serving Nürnberger bratwurst, Käsekrainer and ham-and-bean soup.
More huts on the same square means more people, and the campus hasn't gained any space. A task force has been meeting on the problem. Its members are the City of Carmel, Carmel Christkindlmarkt, the Center, Hotel Carmichael and REI, which manages the building that houses The Tarkington. The group has ruled out some short-term fixes. One was limiting public garage access to people holding performance tickets, which would break a city agreement to keep the garage open to the whole campus.
For this season the task force has recommended three things: dedicated rideshare locations, more money for shuttles, and a traffic and parking study done while the market is open. Councilor Jeff Worrell sits on the task force. He supports starting with the study and described it as looking at "Indianapolis 500 tactics to get traffic in and out."
Those are still recommendations. The one change confirmed so far is a larger version of the market's free weekend shuttle, which started in 2025 and runs about every 15 minutes between the market and off-site parking. The market's parking page still says its rideshare drop-off on 3rd Avenue is unofficial and can get very congested, especially on weekends.
The Help Arrives When the Crowds Do
Here is the pattern behind the whole season. The free shuttle runs only on Saturdays and Sundays. The city's free Holiday Trolley runs only on Fridays and Saturdays. The market is open longest on weekends. On Wednesday and Thursday it opens at 4 p.m., and on Monday and Tuesday it is closed.
| Day | Market hours | Weekend shuttle | Holiday Trolley |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | No | No |
| Tuesday | Closed | No | No |
| Wednesday | 4–9 p.m. | No | No |
| Thursday | 4–9 p.m. | No | No |
| Friday | Noon–9 p.m. | No | 5–9 p.m. |
| Saturday | Noon–9 p.m. | Yes | 2–9 p.m. |
| Sunday | Noon–8 p.m. | Yes | No |
A few dates don't follow the weekly pattern. The market opens noon to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25, and on Dec. 21, 22 and 23. It closes at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve, which is its last day. It is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The trolley runs on Saturdays Nov. 21 and 28 and Dec. 5, 12 and 19, and on Fridays Nov. 27 and Dec. 4, 11 and 18. Its last run is Dec. 19, five days before the market closes.
The busiest single day is likely to be Saturday, Nov. 21. It is the market's opening day, the trolley's first run, and the Holidays in Carmel kickoff. The kickoff brings Santa, reindeer and seasonal activities to Carter Green, City Hall, Main Street, City Center and the Monon Greenway, and it ends with a countdown and the lighting of the city tree at the market. The Magnificent Monon light display starts the same day. Two days earlier, on Thursday, Nov. 19, the market holds Wundernacht, a 21-and-over ticketed preview. Its $100 general admission and $200 VIP tickets are listed as sold out.
Parking Farther Away Is Often Faster
Councilor Adam Aasen suggested that visitors who don't need a mobility accommodation park in other garages nearby and walk to the market. The market agreed, saying in a statement that using off-site parking and walking can often be "a quicker, less stressful option," and pointing to the holiday lights on the Monon Greenway along the way, according to Current in Carmel. Parking in Carmel's downtown garages is free. The market's parking page lists five garages, each with a walking route that joins the Monon Trail:
- Civic Square Garage, 50 Red Truck Rd. About 0.3 mile and a 6–10 minute walk. Head north toward Bank Street, then west to the Monon, then north to the market.
- Midtown South Garage, 580 Veterans Way. About 0.5 mile and a 6–10 minute walk, by Veterans Way and Walnut Street to the trail.
- Midtown North Garage, 145 Elm St. About 0.5 mile and a 9–12 minute walk. Head west on Elm Street to the Monon, then south.
- Sophia Square Garage, 31 1st Ave. NW. About 0.8 mile and an 11–15 minute walk by way of Main Street. This one is underground.
- Proscenium Garage, 1225 Veterans Way. About 0.6 mile and an 11–15 minute walk, following the pedestrian route north to the trail.
If you drive close in, keep one detail in mind. There is no southbound traffic on 3rd Avenue SW near the market. Accessible parking is in the Tarkington Garage on 3rd Avenue SW for vehicles with qualifying tags or plates.
The weekend shuttle picks up from free parking on College Drive at the former CNO Financial campus and drops off on Third Avenue. Its larger 40-seat bus is ADA accessible. That matters because this year's trolley is not, so on weekends the shuttle is the accessible way to ride in. The Holiday Trolley loops through seven stops:
- Indiana Design Center
- First and Main, across from Woody's Library Restaurant
- Christkindlmarkt, north entrance
- West Main Street and Monon Boulevard, at Bub's Burgers
- Carmel City Center, InCycle Plaza
- West Elm Street and Monon Boulevard, south of Garden Table
- Civic Square, at the southwest corner of the fountain near the gazebo
The city doesn't publish arrival times for each stop. Its Holiday Tour Tracker shows where the trolley is instead. The trolley also connects the market to Santa's House in the Indiana Design Center lot at 200 S. Range Line Road. Santa's House is open Saturdays, Dec. 5 and 12, from 2 to 5 p.m.
Matching Show Nights to the Market Calendar
This is where the Center's numbers matter. The Center's 2026 holiday lineup is full, and the dates fall on different points in the market's week. Grouped by what the market is doing that night:
Nights the market is closed
- Leslie Odom, Jr: The Christmas Tour 2026, Tuesday, Dec. 1
- Holidays in Harmony with Girl Named Tom, Monday, Dec. 7
Weeknights when the market opens at 4 p.m.
- Civic Theatre's Annie, Thursday, Dec. 3
- Jon McLaughlin & Friends: Home for the Holidays, Thursday, Dec. 10
- Peanut Butter & Jam: Melchior Marionettes, Thursday, Dec. 17
Weekend dates, when the campus is at its busiest
- Gravity & Other Myths: Ten Thousand Hours, Saturday, Nov. 21, opening day
- The Nutcracker by Indiana Ballet Conservatory, Sunday, Nov. 22
- Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's Wild and Swingin' Holiday Party, Nov. 28–29
- 93rd Annual Purdue Christmas Show, Friday, Dec. 4
- Jingle Them Bells by the Indiana Wind Symphony, Saturday, Dec. 5
- White Christmas Film Screening, Sunday, Dec. 6
- Dave Koz & Friends Christmas Tour, Friday, Dec. 11
- HOLIDAY POPS by the Carmel Symphony Orchestra, Saturday, Dec. 12
- Handel's Messiah by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Sunday, Dec. 13
- Festival of Carols, Saturday, Dec. 19
- Songbook Academy Sings the Songs of the Season, Dec. 19–20
On a Tuesday in December, a Leslie Odom Jr. ticket and the Carter Green garages don't have to compete with the market at all. On Saturday, Dec. 5, Jingle Them Bells shares the campus with the market at full hours, the shuttle, the trolley and Santa's House. Allow time for the walk from Civic Square or Midtown South that night. The Ice at Carter Green follows the market's weekly rhythm too. It runs Nov. 21 through Jan. 31, 2027, and opens at 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Skating is ticketed, in 90-minute sessions. After Christmas Eve the rink keeps going for five more weeks, with the market's huts gone.
If the recommended traffic study goes ahead, it may change how future seasons work. For 2026, the market's own statement calls parking, getting around and accessibility "top priorities." Until anything else changes, the tools are the calendar above and the five garages along the Monon.
The Kelly Todd Group follows Carmel's calendar the way neighbors do, week by week, from Carter Green to Range Line Road. If you'd like to talk through what this season means for a home near Midtown or the Arts & Design District, we're glad to help.
