Tomah's First Christmas Market Runs the Same Weekends as Sparta's, on Purpose

In 2015 Sparta put up seven wooden vendor huts on a vacant downtown lot for a Christmas market. They were supposed to come down after the holidays. They stayed up instead, held the spring farmers market, and were back for the next Christmas season. The lot eventually became city-owned Mueller Square, and the market grew into a regional attraction. The Monroe County Herald told that history in its August 27 edition, as part of a longer story about how Tomah ended up with a market of its own.

Three weeks from now, on Friday, November 27, the Tomah Kriskindlmarkt opens downtown at 1013 and 1110 Superior Avenue. Tomah's market opens on the same four weekends as Sparta's and keeps the same hours. Organizers set it up that way so the two towns would share holiday visitors, not compete for them.

The reason Tomah waited

The Herald reported that Tina Thompson of the Tomah Chamber had heard the same question again and again: why doesn't Tomah have a Christmas market like Sparta's? The chamber had held back because Sparta already had one, and it didn't want a Tomah event to look like an imitation or a competitor.

Mueller, of Sparta's Shovelmen volunteer group, pushed back on that. He told the council that German communities commonly hold their own Christmas markets, and visitors travel from one town to the next. In his view, a second market in Tomah would strengthen Sparta's event, not take from it. "Rising tides lift all ships," he said. He also offered to share the Shovelmen's booth plans and experience if Tomah went ahead.

On August 20 the Sparta Area Chamber of Commerce and the Tomah Chamber Foundation announced the plan together: a traditional Kriskindlmarkt in downtown Tomah for the 2026 holiday season. The September vendor call from Explore Monroe County describes it as a regional collaboration that builds on Sparta's existing market. Organizers hope it becomes an annual tradition.

Why the matching schedule matters

Sparta's 2026 schedule opens Friday, November 27, from noon to 8 p.m. After that it runs Fridays 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. through December 19. Tomah's opening-day listing from Visit Tomah shows the same hours: noon to 8 p.m. on opening day, then 4 to 8 p.m. Fridays and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays.

The Herald reported that organizers hope the matching schedules will get visitors to go to both markets, and that the two communities could promote them jointly. The paper also raised the idea of a holiday route that could someday connect Tomah, Sparta and other area towns, giving visitors more reasons to come to Monroe County and stay longer.

If you already live in Tomah, this means the market by your house isn't your only choice on a December Saturday. Any weekend from Thanksgiving to the week before Christmas, both markets are open during the same hours.

Huts, not tents

Tomah's market will use permanent-style wooden huts, the same approach Sparta took. Mueller told the council that solid huts create the atmosphere of a real Christmas market, and they show that organizers are building something meant to last, not "a temporary collection of pop-up tents."

According to the Herald, Tomah plans to start with 10 wooden vendor huts and could expand to 18 during the first year. Tomah Lumber, All American Do-It Center and Friends of Tomah Parks are helping build them. Mueller also suggested that building and maintaining the huts could be the first project for a Tomah volunteer group modeled on the Shovelmen.

The first site is 1013 Superior Avenue, where the Peking Restaurant used to be. The city administrator's October report listed the Halloween Hallow Hut Market there on October 31 as a trial run for the Kriskindlmarkt, with vendor huts, children's activities, free face painting and trick-or-treat bags on the schedule. The Christmas market itself uses two locations, 1013 and 1110 Superior Avenue, and admission is free at both.

The vendor call asked for handmade crafts and textiles, woodworking, jewelry, home décor, specialty foods and baked goods, and holiday items. Downtown businesses are encouraged to stay open during market hours and offer holiday products, promotions, food or drinks. The Tomah Chamber's Kriskindlmarkt page is the place to check for vendor and sponsor updates as opening day gets close.

Opening day is the busiest night downtown all season

Opening day lands on the same Friday as Tomah's annual Holiday Parade, so November 27 covers most of a day. Based on the Visit Tomah parade listing and the market's own hours, the day runs like this:

1. Noon. Both Kriskindlmarkt sites open on Superior Avenue.
2. 5:30 p.m. Christmas on Gasoline Alley starts at the Little Red Schoolhouse Museum in Gillett Park. Cookies, hot cocoa and spiced cider are for sale, and proceeds go to the Tomah Area Historical Society & Museum. It runs until 8.
3. 6 to 6:45 p.m. Parade units line up at Tomah Middle School.
4. 7 p.m. The parade heads south in the northbound lanes of Superior Avenue, from Nott Street to Holton Street.
5. 8 p.m. The market closes for the night.

This year's parade theme is "Lights, Camera, Parade: A Night on the Red Carpet," and entries are free and open to the public. The Visit Tomah holiday guide says the parade is popular and suggests arriving early to get a spot. With a market running a few blocks from the parade route, getting downtown in the afternoon and staying through the parade is the easier way to do the evening.

Tomah Holiday Lights at Winnebago Park also starts that weekend and stays up through December 31. The parade listing says Gillett and Winnebago parks light up after the parade on Friday, and the holiday guide lists a November 28 start, so check tomahholidaylights.com before you head out. Donations at the display support the Neighbor for Neighbor Food Pantry.

The one big night that isn't a market night

One December event falls outside the market weekends. The CPKC Holiday Train stops at 205 N. Superior Avenue on Thursday, December 10, from 5:30 to 6 p.m., with Allen Stone performing, according to WXOW's 2026 schedule. The event is free, and food or cash donations go to local food banks, according to CPKC and Visit Tomah.

The train comes the night before the third market weekend, which gives you three nights in a row downtown if you want them: the train on Thursday, then the market on Friday and Saturday.

Thompson told the Monroe County Herald that "a Kriskindlmarkt is about more than shopping, it's about supporting small businesses, bringing people into Tomah, and creating traditions that make our communities special." Sparta's version of that tradition started with seven huts on an empty lot. Tomah plans to start with 10, on a block where a restaurant used to be, and open on the same weekends as its neighbor.

We're a family team in Central Wisconsin, and a December weekend with two markets open is a good reason to spend more time in Monroe County. If a walk down Superior Avenue gets you thinking about what Tomah could look like as your home base, Pfaff Properties WI is happy to talk it over. Let's find your place in Wisconsin.