"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 October 19, as reported by Current in Carmel. His building and the Carmel Christkindlmarkt sit across the street from each other in the same city center. Both depend on December, and both share one set of streets and garages.
The market opens Saturday, November 21, and runs through Christmas Eve at 10 Carter Green. Organizers have told WISH-TV they expect more than 250,000 visitors. Almost everything that changes this season is about getting those people in and out. For anyone who lives nearby, the evenings that go well this year will be the ones planned around arrival rather than around the market itself.
What the Center's Numbers Show
According to McDermott's council report, holiday ticket sales at the Center have fallen 20 percent since 2023, and holiday attendance has fallen 24 percent, about $66,000 in lost revenue. Over the same stretch, the share of people who buy a ticket to a holiday show and never arrive has climbed to nearly double the rate for the Center's other shows. Current in Carmel reported that some patrons are avoiding the area altogether because of the traffic and the limited parking nearby.
At its June report to the council, covered by Current in Carmel, the market said 2025 drew slightly fewer total visitors than 2024 but more guests per day, after weather closed it for two days. CEO Jason Adamowicz said attendance is stabilizing, and revenue still rose from $1.9 million in 2024 to $2.1 million in 2025.
More visitors on each open day means the strain shows up on a given Saturday night more than on the season total. People who plan to see a holiday show, eat on Main Street or just cross 3rd Avenue in December feel it in the hour before curtain time.
What the City and the Market Are Changing
A task force has been meeting on the problem. Its members are the City of Carmel, the Christkindlmarkt, the Center, Hotel Carmichael and REI, which manages the building that houses The Tarkington. The group has ruled out limiting public garage access to performance ticket holders, because that would break a city agreement to keep the garage open to the whole campus. For this season it recommends dedicated rideshare locations, more money for shuttles, and a traffic and parking study conducted while the market is open.
Councilor Jeff Worrell, who sits on the task force, told the council that a study "specifically looking at Indianapolis 500 tactics to get traffic in and out is about the only lever we have to pull at this moment."
The change you can actually use on opening weekend is the shuttle. It started in 2025 and carried 11,000 riders in its first season between the former CNO campus and Carter Green. This year the market's shuttle page lists two buses, one with 29 seats and one 40-seat ADA-accessible bus. They run free on Saturdays and Sundays about every 15 minutes from 550 College Drive to the market entrance on 3rd Avenue.
The Garages Built for a Short Walk
Both Councilor Adam Aasen and the market's leadership told Current in Carmel the same thing. Visitors who don't have limited mobility should park at garages a little farther out and walk in. In its statement the market added that the walk along the Monon Greenway passes holiday lights and decorations on the way.
The market's October 2026 getting-there guide names five park-and-walk garages and recommends the Monon as a lit walking route from several of them.
| Garage | Address | Distance to the market |
|---|---|---|
| Civic Square Garage | 50 Red Truck Rd. | 0.3 mi |
| Midtown North Garage | 145 Elm St. | 0.5 mi |
| Midtown South Garage | 580 Veterans Way | 0.5 mi |
| Proscenium Garage | 1225 Veterans Way | 0.6 mi |
| Sophia Square Garage | 31 1st Ave. NW | 0.8 mi |
The Midtown garages put the walk on the Monon. Sophia Square starts you in the Arts & Design District, so dinner on Main Street fits naturally before or after the market. Carmel's public parking is free.
If you have tickets to a show, the Center's directions and parking page lists the Center Garage at 819 3rd Ave. SW as closest, then the Veterans Way Garage at 100 City Center Dr. and Civic Square. All three are free. The same page notes that while the market is open, 3rd Avenue is closed to southbound traffic between City Center Drive and the Center Garage entrance. Coming up 3rd Avenue from the south still gets you to that garage. Coming down it from City Center Drive does not.
The Trolley Connects the Districts
The city's free Holiday Trolley runs Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 2 to 9 p.m., November 21 through December 19. It links the Arts & Design District, the Indiana Design Center and City Center. Indy's Child lists its 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 at InCycle Plaza
- West Elm Street and Monon Boulevard, south of Garden Table
- Civic Square, at the southwest corner by the fountain and gazebo
The trolley is not ADA-accessible, and it runs separately from the market's weekend shuttle. Taken together, the two let you park once on a Saturday and still cover Main Street, the market and the Midtown end of the Monon.
What's Inside This Year
Admission to the market is free. Skating at The Ice at Carter Green takes a separate ticket, and the market recommends buying it in advance. The rink's season runs November 21, 2026, through January 31, 2027, a month past the market's close.
WTHR's rundown of the 2026 lineup names two new vendors. Brathaus serves Nürnberger Bratwürste, Käsekrainer and ham-and-bean soup, and it is the first vendor ever to sell Nürnberger sausages at the market. Ino Schaller Papiermaché brings traditional papier-mâché figures made in Meilschnitz, Germany. Nine visiting artisans from Germany will rotate through the Werkstatt for live demonstrations in crafts from woodworking to glassblowing. The Winter Pavilion has more than 160 hours of live music scheduled, including Alex Meixner, Duke Tumatoe, the Johnny Koenig Band, Midwest Alphorns and Mollie B.
Regular hours are Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from noon to 9 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. The market closes on Thanksgiving and keeps extended hours during the holiday weeks. The special events on the market's calendar are the nights to plan your parking around:
- Thursday, November 19: Wundernacht, the adults-only preview from 6 to 9 p.m., which is sold out.
- Saturday, November 21: Opening Ceremony at 11:30 a.m. with alphorns and the Christkind, then the tree lighting from 6 to 6:45 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 25: Sankt Martinstag Storytime, 4 to 6 p.m., with sessions starting every 15 minutes. The market is open noon to 9 p.m. that day before closing for Thanksgiving.
- Saturday, December 5: Sankt Nikolaustag, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., when Sankt Nikolaus and Knecht Ruprecht arrive and children can recite a poem or sing a song for a small gift.
- Wednesday, December 9: German Sing-Along and Ornament Exchange, 7:30 to 9 p.m. Bring a wrapped ornament worth $5 to $10.
- Saturday, December 12: Glühwein Gallop 5K, 9 to 11 a.m., starting and finishing at the market.
- Sunday, December 20: Military Appreciation Day, with a noon ceremony in the Winter Pavilion.
The tree lighting, Sankt Nikolaustag and the Glühwein Gallop all fall on Saturdays, when the shuttle and the trolley are both running.
Where the Walk Ends at Dinner
Parking farther out and walking in leaves room for a meal along the way. The newest table in the Arts & Design District is Ambrosia Carmel, which opened September 26 at 110 W. Main Street, Suite 100. The Pizzi family's Italian restaurant, founded in 1979 and still serving on College Avenue in Indianapolis, took over the former Josephine space. It added Accanto next door, an oyster room that revives the oyster bar from the original Ambrosia, according to Absolute Living. Sophia Square Garage puts you a short walk from its door.
At the City Center end, Current in Carmel reports that Taylor's Bar & Table is aiming for an early December opening at 885 Monon Green Blvd., Suite 108, as a family-friendly restaurant with separate bar seating for guests 21 and over. The Symphony Café has announced plans to open in the Wren Building by the end of the year, with coffee, tea, matcha, sandwiches, bagels and cookies. Charred, a steak-and-bourbon restaurant at 61 W. City Center Drive, opened this summer.
Living within a walk of Carter Green makes December in Carmel very different from driving in. If you're thinking about what that walkability is worth in your own home, Rasmussen Team can give you an honest local read on it. Start with a free home valuation.
