Lincoln Square's Holiday Season Turns on One Saturday at Giddings Plaza. What Fills the Weeks Around It?

At 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 28, the tree in Giddings Plaza at 4731 N. Lincoln Ave. lights up. DANK Haus will be pouring glühwein and hot cider on the plaza, and Derek Bish will have spent the previous half hour on stage talking with Santa and Ald. Matt Martin. Those few hours make up nearly all of Lincoln Square's public holiday season outdoors.

The rest of the season happens indoors, in a ballroom on Western Avenue, a concert hall on Lincoln, a school gym on Wilson, and a few shops and dining rooms in between. The calendar below runs in date order, starting with the last outdoor routine of the year.

The last outdoor Tuesday is Nov. 17

The Lincoln Square Farmers Market holds its final Tuesday of 2026 on Nov. 17 at 2301 W. Leland Ave. The city's 2026 farmers market schedule gives the same end date, and neither the city nor the Chamber lists an indoor winter season for the market.

This was the market's first season back on that lot. Block Club Chicago reported that construction at the Western Brown Line station pushed it to a parking lot at 4513 N. Lincoln Ave. in 2024, and that it returned to Leland this year. So the routine people rebuilt around Leland this summer ends three weeks before Thanksgiving, and nothing outdoors replaces it on a weekly basis.

Before the 28th, the dates are already indoors

The first holiday events start while the market still has a few Tuesdays to go, and all three are held in shops or a school.

• Sunday, Nov. 1, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Lena Rose Beauty opens its Holiday Gift Shop at 4645 N. Rockwell St. Entry is free, and the shop features handmade gifts from the House Line.
• Thursday, Nov. 12, 6 to 9 p.m. The Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce runs its Fall Wine Stroll through participating Lincoln Square and Ravenswood businesses. The listing uses 4614 N. Lincoln Ave. as its map point.
• Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 14 and 15. The Lycée French Market holds its 22nd edition at Lycée Français de Chicago, 1929 W. Wilson Ave. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

The French Market is the only one of the three that runs a full weekend. After that comes the single day the neighborhood spends outside.

Nov. 28, hour by hour

The Chamber has packed Small Business Saturday with events across Ravenswood and the heart of Lincoln Avenue, and on the same day Old Town School of Folk Music has three performances of one holiday show. Everything on the Chamber's schedule is free.

Santa makes three stops before the lighting. He starts on Damen, moves to Ravenswood Avenue for the pets in the afternoon, and finishes on the plaza. The carolers wear Dickensian costumes, according to the Chamber, and DANK Haus serves glühwein and hot cider while they sing as well as during the lighting.

Old Town School's Lincoln Square campus sits at 4544 to 4545 N. Lincoln Ave., on the same stretch of Lincoln as the plaza. The 5 p.m. mariachi show starts at the same time as the pre-show, so anyone who wants both the lighting and the concert on the same evening should book the 8 p.m. performance.

The Chamber page still lists 2025 shop discounts for Small Business Saturday and says 2026 offers will be added. Check the Chamber's Small Business Saturday page closer to the date before planning around a particular sale.

After the tree is lit, two rooms carry December

Once the plaza event is over, the season moves into two rooms, and most of the remaining dates are held in one or the other.

Maurer Hall has two more holiday programs. "Irish Christmas in America" plays Dec. 5 at 5 and 8 p.m. "Songs of Good Cheer," Old Town School's 28th annual holiday caroling party hosted by Mary Schmich and Eric Zorn, runs Dec. 10 through 13. The full lineup is on the Old Town School concerts page.

The Marunde Ballroom at DANK Haus German American Cultural Center, 4740 N. Western Ave., hosts the indoor DANK Haus Weihnachtsmarkt on Saturday, Dec. 12, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Organizers describe local vendors selling handcrafted gifts, Gulasch, Käsespätzle, Bavarian desserts and glühwein, with Santa taking photos from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Here are the practical details from the market's FAQ:

• Entry: suggested $5 donation at the door, which helps cover entertainment and supports the nonprofit
• Payment: cash, card, or tap to pay
• Parking: limited spaces at the 5/3 Bank at Western and Gunnison, plus paid street parking
• For kids: coloring pages, crafts, games and Christmas music
• Who runs it: DANK Haus's Programming Committee, staffed by volunteers

DANK Haus shows up at both ends of the season. Its glühwein is what people drink on Giddings Plaza on Nov. 28, and two weeks later it holds its own market under its own roof. Vendor booths are still for sale at standard pricing through Dec. 6, so the vendor list may keep growing until the week before the market.

Where dinner fits on the calendar

Several of the dates above are evening events, and Lincoln Avenue has two new dining rooms this fall.

Block Club Chicago reported that Goosefoot, Chris and Nina Nugent's contemporary French-American restaurant, opened quietly at 4520 N. Lincoln Ave. in March and held its grand opening Oct. 10. The restaurant spent 12 years at 2656 W. Lawrence Ave. before closing there in 2024. The couple bought the building, which used to be an Italian restaurant, and wanted a storefront with an apartment upstairs. "You are in our home because we live upstairs," Nina Nugent told diners, according to Block Club. "We always wanted to be on Lincoln Avenue," Chris Nugent told the outlet. Goosefoot is a few doors south of Old Town School, which makes it an easy dinner before or after a Maurer Hall show.

Farther north, Hazar House has opened at 5047 N. Lincoln Ave. in the former Jibek Jolu space. The Infatuation listed it on Oct. 22 as a Central Asian and Middle Eastern spot with manty and pelmeni again, plus shawarma, lagman and braised lamb shank.

Two more businesses could matter for holiday plans:

1. Del Sur Bakery, 4639 N. Damen Ave., is rebuilding and expanding its bakery-café. Its website still says "Reopening Autumn 2026" and gives no date.
2. Lillstreet Art Center, 4401 N. Ravenswood Ave., got a new owner at the end of September. Block Club reported that founder Bruce Robbins sold the center to Samantha Walton, and the center said its offerings, prices and staffing would not change.

If the Nov. 28 tree lighting has you thinking about which blocks of Lincoln Square put you within walking distance of Giddings Plaza and Maurer Hall, the Leigh Marcus Team can talk through the neighborhood's streets with you, block by block. Book a Consultation.