This Saturday, Oct. 31, is the last full-length market day of the year at the covered marketplace at 150 W. 8th Street. That day the Holland Farmers Market finishes its 2026 regular season, open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On Nov. 4 the schedule drops to 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., two hours shorter each market day.
For the next seven weeks, almost every Saturday event downtown happens at that one corner of 8th Street and Pine Avenue. Directly across Pine, a five-story building is going up, and the City of Holland has closed lanes on two of the streets that lead to the market's closest parking deck. Those closures stay in place through every market Saturday this season.
The Shorter Market Comes First
From Nov. 4 through Nov. 28, the Holland Farmers Market is open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. In December it runs as a holiday market on three Saturdays, Dec. 5, 12 and 19, with the same 9-to-1 hours. After that it moves indoors on Saturdays from January through April 2027. The market's plan-your-visit page lists two Saturdays with no indoor market, Feb. 27 and March 13, because of scheduling conflicts at the Holland Civic Center.
The three December dates line up exactly with the Saturdays the Kerstmarkt is open. That overlap shapes the rest of the season at this corner.
Then the Kerstmarkt Moves In Beside It
Holland Friends of Art's Kerstmarkt opens Friday, Nov. 20, at the Civic Center Marketplace. It runs five weekends through Dec. 19, Fridays from 3 to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Downtown Holland's winter events page lists the same address as the Eighth Street Marketplace.
The Holland Area Visitors Bureau's Kerstmarkt page says the wooden booths go up in front of the Civic Center and share space with the Farmers Market on Saturdays. The market started in 1997 with 10 booths in Centennial Park. Vendors now rotate between weekends, so the lineup changes from one weekend to the next. The bureau's page also lists dog sled demos, handbell concerts, Sinterklaas, the Dickens Carolers and a collectible gluhwein mug.
Laid side by side, the two schedules look like this:
| Saturday | Farmers Market | Kerstmarkt | Also downtown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 21 | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. | Holiday Open House, 5 to 8 p.m. |
| Nov. 28 | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. | Saturday after Thanksgiving |
| Dec. 5 | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. | |
| Dec. 12 | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. | |
| Dec. 19 | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. | Final day for both |
On each of those Saturdays, both markets are open until 1 p.m., and then the Kerstmarkt runs alone for six more hours. If you want eggs or apples and a booth browse in one trip, go in the morning. In the afternoon, only the holiday market is open.
Nov. 21 Is the Longest Day at the Corner
The opening Saturday puts the most activity on this block in one day. The Farmers Market opens at 9 a.m. alongside the Kerstmarkt's first Saturday. At 5 p.m., two hours before the booths close, Downtown Holland's Holiday Open House starts. Shops and restaurants offer free gift wrapping, refreshments and discounts, and the evening includes strolling carolers, a reindeer petting corral, roasted chestnuts and visits with Santa. It runs until 8 p.m. From the first farmers market stall to the last open-house shop, that adds up to 11 straight hours of scheduled events downtown.
The same pairing happened last year. WHTC reported on Nov. 21, 2025 that the opening Kerstmarkt Saturday shared the day with the weekly Holland Farmers Market and the Holiday Open House. The station said nearly 50 retailers took part in the open house, according to Linda Hart of the Holland Area Visitors Bureau.
The week before is quieter. Shop 'Til You Drop falls on Friday, Nov. 13, from 6 to 9 p.m. Participating shops and restaurants stay open late with discounts of up to 30%, and neither market is running that night.
Across Pine, a Project Set to Run Until 2028
The new building across the street will still be under construction long after this holiday season. Geenen DeKock Properties LLC is building a five-story mixed-use building with 83 apartments at 100 W. 8th Street. The rendering published by Crain's Grand Rapids Business on May 14, 2026 shows ground-floor retail. Crain's reported that the project would cap off more than a decade of the company's investments along Eighth Street and called it the last of the firm's properties on the street.
To make room for construction, the city closed two lanes beginning Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, according to its traffic notice:
- The east lane of southbound Pine Avenue between 8th and 9th Streets
- The north lane of eastbound 9th Street between Pine Avenue and the parking deck entrance
The city expects the project to be finished by Sept. 29, 2028, and says the schedule may change with weather and other factors.
The parking deck in that second bullet matters most on market days. The Farmers Market sends shoppers to designated free public spaces in the 9th Street Parking Deck, which it describes as just across the street from the market. The city's notice closes one lane on the way to the deck entrance. It does not say the deck itself is closed. On a Saturday when two markets are open across the street, though, that block of 9th Street has one lane fewer than it had last year.
Parking Rules That Stay the Same
Most of downtown parking is unchanged. Downtown Holland's parking guide says public and customer lots, street spaces and both parking decks are free during the day. There is no time limit except at marked 15-minute spots, and residents may not park on the street overnight. The Farmers Market also points to free parking on its own grounds, plus street and surface-lot spaces across downtown. If you come into downtown from farther out, there's also water-main work on 8th Street. The Holland Board of Public Works' 8th Street water main project has 8th closed between Waverly and US-31, with completion estimated for Nov. 5.
The Parade Ends at the Same Address
The corner's last big night is on a Tuesday. The Parade of Lights starts at 8th Street and Columbia Avenue at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 1. It travels west on 8th Street and ends at Holland Civic Center Place, 150 W. 8th Street, the same address as both markets. Downtown Holland says more than 80 floats, commercial vehicles, walkers and marching bands are lit up for the route, and that 2026 parade entries are full. The entry cap applies to participants. Spectators can still come watch.
After the last Kerstmarkt Saturday on Dec. 19, the Farmers Market moves indoors in January, and on the city's current estimate the lane closures on Pine Avenue and 9th Street stay in place until Sept. 29, 2028.
If you own a home a few blocks from 8th and Pine and wonder how two more years of construction and 83 new apartments next door might affect your property's value, Fortress Realty can give you a straight read based on current local sales. Get your free home valuation, and we'll walk you through what the numbers mean for your street.
