WILKOMMEN to KRISKINDLMARKT
For the four Fridays and Saturdays following the Thanksgiving holiday, the city of Sparta in west-central Wisconsin is transformed into an old-fashioned Christmas card. Visit at this time of year and you’ll find the city’s modest population (10,025 as of 2023) is expanded with visitors from all over the state and beyond who come to take in the annual Kriskindlmarkt, a traditional, European-style outdoor holiday market.
On these weekends (as well as the final weekend of November), downtown Sparta is aglow with twinkling lights and elaborately decorated store fronts, filled with people wandering past rows of Bavarian-style huts stocked with holiday ornaments and other goods handmade by local artisans. Visitors sip from mugs of steaming glühwein (mulled wine) as they shop the stalls, stopping for treats with old-country flair like Bavarian pretzels, roasted nuts, and schnitzel. Marketgoers might pause to take in a holiday musical performance, listen to a storyteller recount a holiday tale, or gather around an open fire to make s’mores.
“It’s definitely more than just shopping—it’s a whole experience,” says Heidi Prestwood-Funkhouser of the Sparta Chamber of Commerce, who serves as the event coordinator. “When you hear the Christmas music start playing and a light snow starts falling, it’s like a Hallmark movie.”
An award-winning one, at that. The Sparta, WI Kriskindlmarkt received the State of Wisconsin’s Tourism Award for Innovation in 2023. The event has also been named the best Kriskindlmarkt in Wisconsin by a couple of different travel bloggers.
Despite its wide acclaim, however, the event remains a charmingly local affair. Artisans come from all over to sell their handmade goods. The food stands are mostly run by local non-profit organizations including the Rotary Club, Kiwanis, Snowmobile Club of Monroe County, Friends of the Elroy-Sparta Trail, and the Sparta Area School District Weekend Backpack Program.
Now in its tenth year, the Sparta Kriskindlmarkt keeps changing and growing. This year’s event will feature 33 vendor huts in three clusters in the downtown area: Mueller Square, Creekside Village, and Lovelock Village. This years’ event will also house three rentable “warming” igloos in Creekside Meadow.
These chalet-like huts house a rotation of handcrafted items for sale. Vendors change from week to week, and even day to day, so visitors who stroll through the Kriskindlmarkt multiple times in a season will find something different each time. There are knitted and crocheted pieces, home décor, candles, woodwork and metal arts, as well as some imported German Christmas ornaments.
“We also have a lot of groups that make candies and chocolates, we have someone who makes cotton candy, another lady sells hand-printed paper, and she writes and sells her books,” Prestwood-Funkhouser added. “We have another lady who makes pillows and quilts and her own stuffed animals. What you’ll see just depends on what day you’re there.”
Visitors will also find plenty of food and spirits to sustain them while shopping. New amenities include to the grounds this year is the Bier Hausl, where guests can pick up beer, wine, and collectible mugs. There’s also hot cider, hot cocoa, and coffee to sip while wandering around the market grounds.
At the octagon-shaped Sausage Hut—just added to the Creekside area of the market last year—locally produced German-style sausages are served up piping hot. Visitors can also warm up with cheese curds, seared salmon, potato pancakes, pretzels, and freshly made crepes.
Kriskindlmarkt also features a full schedule of holiday entertainment throughout its four- week run. The first weekend, which this year will be November 29and 30, serves as a grand kick-off to the holiday season, with corresponding holiday events including a Santa Scamper fun run, an evening parade, an official lighting ceremony at Evans-Bosshard Park, and an appearance by Santa, Mrs. Claus, and the Grinch.
Over the following three weekends, Kriskindlmarkt will offer additional entertainment including musical performances, storytelling, and a chainsaw-carving demonstration. Check the Kriskindlmarkt Facebook page for updated schedules, as well as updated lists of vendors for each day of the market.
Or just stop by and enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas. Regardless of what’s on the schedule, Sparta’s Kriskindlmarkt will offer a total holiday immersion that’s sure to fill you with good cheer.