North Loop In Full Holiday Mode
From dazzling store windows to bustling markets and cheering crowds at a giant tree-lighting ceremony, North Loop brings you some of the biggest and brightest holiday vibes each year. Here’s some of what you can expect to see:
The Decorations: Shop owners are getting more creative each season with their lights and window displays, and no one does it bigger than MartinPatrick3, which won a national award for its 2020 windows. This year, they’ll have a gingerbread theme, debuting the week of November 17th.
The Markets: North Loop Green is bringing back its very popular Minneapolis Christkindl Market on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from November 21st through December 21st. It’s a European-style Christmas market with live entertainment and dozens of alpine wooden huts selling hand-crafted goods along with warm food and mulled wine.
Several North Loop businesses will also be hosting pop-up holiday markets of their own throughout the season.
The Tree Lighting: Crowds will gather again on Nordic Plaza on December 4th to sip free hot chocolate and cider, eat free Cardigan doughnuts and join the countdown for the 4th annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony. Santa and his elves will be there–along with live reindeer–to pose for photos as well. The event goes from 5-7 pm and the actual lighting is set for 6. This brief video shows how it looked in 2024.
Santa Cycle Rampage MSP: This is one of the wildest North Loop scenes each holiday season as dozens of cyclists take part in “the jolliest brewery tour in Minneapolis.” It begins and ends in the North Loop on December 6th with the cycling Santas gathering for breakfast at The Loop at 10am, making the rounds of Minneapolis breweries, and then pulling in to Fulton’s taproom after sundown for their final round. This video shows how it looked in 2024.
It’s free to join in. All the information is on their Facebook page.
Minneapolis SantaCon: This North Loop bar crawl on Saturday, December 13th, begins at noon at The Loop, then moves on to Graze Food Hall and Bricksworth before wrapping up at The Rabbit Hole. There’s no admission fee. Attendees are encouraged to dress up in ugly sweaters or Santa, elves and reindeer costumes. Best dressed will win a $150 Amazon gift card.