Chillicothe's Holiday Season Has One Address This Year

Sixteen garage doors line the new farmers market pavilion in Yoctangee Park. It is a mass timber building with heating for winter, large ceiling fans for summer, and a concession window that serves both inside and outside. When the doors are up, the market is open-air. When they are down, it has a roof and heat, which the Chillicothe Farmers Market never had in winter.

That building opens to shoppers on Saturday, November 7. Over the four weeks after that, the city's tree lighting, the Santa House and a 100-tree walk will follow it into the same park, and the downtown 5K will start at the pavilion. For years Chillicothe's cold-weather routines happened in a county parking lot, at a tree on a downtown street corner and at the park entrance. Now they share one rebuilt space, and the market's move is the change that will still be there after the holidays end.

Where the season used to happen

In 2023, the Scioto Post reported that the winter market would stay outdoors in the Service Center lot on Saturday mornings from November through April. The tree has moved too. The Scioto Post reported that in 2024 the lights switched on at the city tree at Paint and Water streets while the display decorated the park. For 2025, the Chillicothe Gazette announced the ceremony for the park entrance. This year it has a stage.

Friday's ribbon-cutting, and what the grant paid for

The City of Chillicothe will hold a free public ribbon-cutting on Friday, November 6, at 1 p.m. at the Yoctangee Park Amphitheater. Tours of the new facilities follow, with activities running through the afternoon. The work was funded by the Appalachian Community Grant Program, which is run by the Ohio Department of Development and the Governor's Office of Appalachia. The award was announced in May 2024, and the program's deadline is the end of 2026.

According to the city, the finished project includes:

• A new outdoor amphitheater and a multipurpose pavilion, with the farmers market as its Saturday anchor
• A complete renovation of the historic Armory
• A new Diamond One baseball field
• A new skatepark, new pickleball courts and fully renovated tennis courts
• Renovations to the 40 & 8 fish stand
• New sidewalks and greenspace
• A roundabout at Mill Street and Yoctangee Parkway, a rebuilt Mulberry Street, and a rebuilt Riverside and Mulberry intersection

Some of it is already open. The Chillicothe Gazette reported on September 1 that the skatepark was in use, with a halfpipe, ramps and rails. In May, the Gazette's photo tour of the Armory showed repairs to the upstairs gymnasium, new restrooms and updated meeting rooms.

Mayor Luke Feeney's statement in the city's announcement describes the park as the place where these routines already happen:

"Yoctangee Park has always been a place where our community comes together, and this project creates even more opportunities for families to gather, enjoy recreational activities, and take part in events throughout the year."

A winter market with a roof

The ribbon-cutting continues Saturday, November 7, when the Chillicothe Farmers Market holds its first day in the pavilion. The Scioto Valley Guardian reports that doors open at 9 a.m., the market runs until noon, and early arrivals can win giveaways. The Guardian also reports that the city described the market as operating outdoors in all weather and said the climate-controlled space would give it a reliable home for the first time. The site also has restrooms and a new parking lot nearby.

The Chillicothe Farmers Market calls itself a year-round market and lists 8 a.m. to noon for May through October. One vendor lists the regular winter hours as Saturdays 10 a.m. to noon, November through April, at the Yoctangee Park pavilion. Opening day starts an hour earlier than that. For the Saturdays after November 7, check the market's page for hours and any holiday changes.

Winter Saturdays keep roughly the same morning window as before, and they now take place in a heated hall in the park rather than the outdoor lot on Western Avenue.

The same Saturday, the Zane Trace Christmas Market is listed on Visit Chillicothe's calendar with more than 90 vendors, food and crafts. That puts the first pavilion market and one of the county's larger holiday craft markets on the same day.

November 20 brings the park and downtown together

The new layout matters most on Friday, November 20. Downtown's annual Holiday Downtown Open House is listed for November 20 through 22, starting at 10 a.m. each day. The Holiday Gift Show at the Pump House opens a night earlier, on November 19, with an artist meet-and-greet from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. It runs through December 24.

That Friday evening, the season moves to the amphitheater. Visit Chillicothe's listing for the free Shine On Chillicothe tree lighting gives the program:

1. 6:00 p.m. Holiday music with DJ Hazel Tanner of Hazel's Roadshow
2. 6:20 p.m. Emcee Mike Haller
3. 6:30 p.m. Santa arrives and lights the tree

The Santa House opens in Yoctangee Park the same night. Shine On's schedule runs it from November 20 through December 23, 2026.

The Holiday Tree Walk around the park is a resident project. Shine On offers 100 trees at $125 each, assigned in the order payment arrives, and sponsors decorate their own. Decorating starts around noon on November 14 and continues November 15. Shine On's rules include:

• LED lights only, no more than 30 watts total per tree
• One outlet per tree, provided by Shine On, and no extension cords
• Weatherproof decorations secured with zip ties or wire
• An optional laminated dedication sign no larger than 18 by 24 inches
• All decorations removed by January 4, 2027

For comparison, a WHEB report said the 2025 light display stayed lit 24 hours a day through January 2, 2026. Shine On has not posted an end date for the 2026 display. The tree walk's January 4 removal deadline is the latest date on its schedule.

December 2 connects the park to downtown

The 15th annual Rudolf Run 5K and Glow Walk, organized by Downtown Chillicothe, is set for Wednesday, December 2. It starts at the Pavilion in Yoctangee Park and finishes at Enderlin Circle.

The rest of early December is spread around the county. Visit Chillicothe's December calendar lists:

The fence that stays up after the ribbon is cut

The park will not be finished after the November 6 ribbon-cutting. The Chillicothe Gazette reported on October 12 that construction would continue after the main improvements wrapped up at the end of October. That work is the Hopewell Regional Visitor Center. The Scioto Post reported in April that it will house the Ross-Chillicothe Convention & Visitors Bureau offices and 3,500 square feet of exhibits, including interpretation of the region's earthworks. The bureau's director gave a target opening of about July 1, 2027.

The earthworks are open this winter. The National Park Service lists Hopewell Culture National Historical Park grounds as open sunrise to sunset. The Mound City Group Visitor Center normally opens daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is closed Thanksgiving Day, November 26. Once the new visitor center opens, the park that holds the farmers market, the tree and the Santa House will also be where visitors start learning about the earthworks.

To see a new public space draw people on its first Saturday morning, go to the pavilion on November 7. I'm Brandon Emmanuel, and I care about how good design shapes a community's routines, in a park as much as in a house. If you'd like to talk about how places like this affect where you live, Brandon Emmanuel is glad to hear from you. Let's connect.