Last year the holiday market at the SoWa Power Station opened on November 28, 2025, the day after Thanksgiving, under the name SoWa Winter Festival. This year the doors at 550 Harrison Ave. open on Friday, November 20, a week before Thanksgiving, as the SoWa Christmas Market.
The name change is the obvious difference. The schedule matters more. With the extra pre-holiday week, later December closing times and a programming calendar stacked on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, the 2026 market is set up less as a weekend shopping trip and more as a December evening spot a few blocks from home.
A full week on the calendar before Thanksgiving
The 11th annual SoWa Christmas Market runs November 20 through December 27, 2026, with more than 100 makers, artists, designers and specialty food vendors inside the Power Station. The 2025 run, which GBH covered at its opening as the 10th annual SoWa Winter Festival, went from November 28 to December 28.
That puts the 2026 opening eight days earlier and the close one day earlier, so the season runs seven days longer overall. Its first week falls before Thanksgiving, ahead of Black Friday. The market is closed on Thanksgiving Day and opens 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Black Friday, November 27.
Opening night, November 20, runs 4 to 9 p.m. with Matt Koelsch performing and tastings from Bully Boy Distillers and Schilling Beer Co.
December gets an extra hour on five nights a week
November hours in 2026 match the single schedule SoWa posted for the 2025 event. The December schedule is the one that changed.
| Day | 2025 posted hours | November 2026 | Starting December 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | Closed | Closed |
| Tuesday to Thursday | 4 to 8 p.m. | 4 to 8 p.m. | 4 to 9 p.m. |
| Friday | 4 to 9 p.m. | 4 to 9 p.m. | 4 to 10 p.m. |
| Saturday | 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Sunday | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
Add up a December week and the market is open 42 hours, against 37 under the 2025 posted schedule. Sunday is the only open day that stays the same. Every added hour comes after dark. A Tuesday-through-Thursday visit now runs a full five hours, from the end of the workday until 9 p.m.
The exceptions are Christmas Eve, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Christmas Day, when the market is closed.
The programming is built around Tuesday through Thursday
Apart from opening night, every wine, beer and spirits tasting falls on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. The market's recurring theme night also lands midweek. Country Night, with JP Line Dance and a mechanical bull, is set for three Thursdays in December.
| Date | Night | On the schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Tue., Nov. 24 | Tasting | Chattermark Distillers, High Limb Cider |
| Tue., Dec. 1 | Tasting | Gunpowder Distillery |
| Wed., Dec. 2 | Tasting | Mast Landing Brewing Company |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Tasting, Country Night | Lo Siento Caliente Tequila; JP Line Dance and mechanical bull |
| Tue., Dec. 8 | Tasting | Flag Hill Distillery, House Wine |
| Wed., Dec. 9 | Tasting | St. George Spirits |
| Thu., Dec. 10 | Tasting, Country Night | 2XO Bourbon, Casa Mexico Tequila; JP Line Dance and mechanical bull |
| Tue., Dec. 15 | Tasting | Lo Siento Caliente Tequila, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. |
| Wed., Dec. 16 | Tasting | Fernet Branca, Borghetti Coffee Liqueur |
| Thu., Dec. 17 | Tasting, Country Night | Green Mountain Distillers, Oxbow Brewing Company; JP Line Dance and mechanical bull |
| Tue., Dec. 22 | Tasting | Bissell Brothers |
| Wed., Dec. 23 | Tasting | Chattermark Distillery |
Live music runs through the whole season on the entertainment schedule. Weekday sets include Stefan Couture on December Tuesdays, Maddi Ryan on December 2 and 16, Steve Rondo on December 9, and Sean McMahon on December 4 and 18. Weekends are fuller, with Kaliloops, Anna Daley Young and Slackville on December 12 and Matt Koelsche with Better Late Boston on December 19. Anna May and Joe Pete play the short Christmas Eve session.
The midweek nights got both the extra hour and nearly all of the scheduled tastings and theme nights.
Friday, December 4, puts two SoWa evenings on one block
The first Friday in December lines the market up with SoWa First Friday, the free monthly evening when artists, galleries, shops and showrooms at 450 and 460 Harrison Ave. open from 5 to 9 p.m. Food trucks park at 500 Harrison Ave. during the same hours, weather permitting. The December edition is listed for December 4.
That night the Power Station runs on its December Friday hours, 4 to 10 p.m., with Sean McMahon on the entertainment schedule. The open studios close an hour before the market does, so the market can come last.
One studio on the 460 Harrison side is new this fall. Flourish & Foundry held an opening event for its studio and gallery at 460 Harrison Ave., Suite C6, on October 9.
What's inside, and what it costs to get in
Admission is $10, and children 12 and under get in free. SoWa's FAQ says cash is preferred, though major credit cards and Apple Pay are accepted.
The food and drink names on the vendor roster cover a quick dinner as easily as dessert:
- Eataly, Chicken & Rice Guys, Pieson's Pizza and Mexibites for something savory
- Matilda, Moyzilla and Big Little Pies
- Petite Sakura Bakery, Berry Sweets and Uncommon Ice Cream for sweets
- Palak's Chai Cart for something warm
The gift side ranges from Fiorella Soapery and Birch Beauty to Julo Pottery Co., The Chocolate Pan, Bees and Teas, and 2 Dogs Treats for anyone shopping for a dog.
Parking costs $10, cash only, at 540 and 500 Harrison Ave. and at 365, 324 and 274 Albany St. The 540 Harrison lot is the one SoWa lists as wheelchair and stroller friendly.
The rest of Harrison Avenue during market season
A weeknight trip down Harrison this year passes a few changes that came before the market. C'Yool Yemeni Cafe & Bakery opened in September at 600 Harrison Ave., in the space Atlantico used to occupy. Boston Restaurant Talk reported a menu of Yemeni mountain coffee, qishr, chai, breads, pastries and manakeesh. Universal Hub covered the opening the following day.
Farther north, the City's Harrison Avenue reconstruction between Herald Street and East Berkeley Street is still under way. The project adds separated one-way bike lanes on both sides of the street, widens sidewalks on part of the west side, removes the median and adds safer crossings. The City expects to finish in 2027. In its October 2 update, the City said ramp work was mostly done, southbound resurfacing had started between Herald and Traveler streets, and crews were building pedestrian crossing islands. The street had sometimes closed fully during the workday but should reopen after work ends each day.
The City's September 16 presentation set expected work hours at 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays and said parking restrictions would be posted at least 48 hours ahead. Those planned hours end an hour before the market opens on weekdays at 4 p.m. The same presentation said final striping may wait until spring, depending on the weather. Questions about current closures go to the project team at [email protected].
The market's schedule and the street work around it both shape how the SoWa end of the South End feels, and the team at Prime Realty follows both closely for the owners and landlords we work with on these blocks. If you own near Harrison Avenue and want to know how the corridor's changes bear on your property, schedule a free market consultation with us.
