The Charles County Fairgrounds will host the 13th annual Kris Kringle Christmas Market from Dec. 12 to 14, 2025, continuing a holiday gathering modeled after longstanding European traditions.
Organizers with the Charles County Fair Board and the market committee plan fireworks, light displays and live performances alongside booths from more than 180 local artisans selling handmade crafts. The event supports community groups through a $5 adult admission fee, with children 10 and under entering free. Proceeds benefit the Southern Maryland Food Bank, Charles County Association of Emergency Medical Services, Charles County Volunteer Firemen’s Association and the Charles County Fair.
The market opens Friday at 4 p.m. and runs until 8 p.m., with the tree lighting and Santa Claus arrival at 5 p.m. Saturday hours stretch from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Attendees can expect strolling carolers, performances by local school choruses and bands, a living nativity scene, sales from nonprofits including the Boy Scouts and children’s activities led by a 4-H club. Food vendors will offer holiday treats, while a lighted path leads through a Christmas Village setup. The historic McConchie School House, a preserved one-room structure on the fairgrounds, will open for decorated tours. Fresh greens gathered from local yards and fields will go on sale for home decorations.
Vendor spaces for 2025 filled quickly, with a waitlist available for cancellations on a first-come, first-served basis. Crafters and sellers can apply by downloading the form from the event website and emailing it to kriskringlechristmasmarket@gmail.com. Official updates come only from that address, and the committee does not request payments through personal or third-party links.
This setup echoes German Christmas markets, which date to the 16th century in cities like Nuremberg, where wooden stalls first sold mulled wine, gingerbread and ornaments during Advent. Charles County’s version adapts that format to Southern Maryland’s rural setting, emphasizing local produce and volunteer-led programming at the 100-year-old fairgrounds. The fair itself traces to 1924, when farmers incorporated the event to showcase agriculture amid post-World War I recovery.
The market launched in 2013 as a one-day affair on Dec. 7, with admission of one canned good or $1 directed to the food bank. It expanded the next year to a weekend format, drawing families for its blend of faith-based elements like the nativity and secular draws such as Santa’s visits. Organizers described the vision as an old-fashioned Christmas centered on both Jesus Christ and Santa Claus, navigating cultural sensitivities while building attendance.
By 2017, in its fifth year, the event featured light displays and holiday foods that mirrored its European inspiration more closely. Growth continued, with the 2019 edition called a huge success by partners including the Charles County Fire and EMS Association volunteers. That year, it supported food drives and emergency services amid a season of steady visitor turnout at the 100-acre site off Radio Station Road. The 2020 market persisted through pandemic adjustments, focusing on volunteer efforts to sustain community ties.
Live music has anchored programming, such as the 2021 holiday concert by the Charles County Youth Orchestra at 5 p.m. on Dec. 11, directed by Dr. Osman Kivrak and featuring strings and winds in seasonal pieces. Such performances highlight the fairgrounds’ role as a venue for young talent in a county of about 170,000 residents, where public schools feed into events like this.
Donations underscore the market’s local footprint. In 2024, the committee presented $13,000 each to the Southern Maryland Food Bank and Charles County Volunteer Fire and Emergency Medical Services, funding meal distributions and equipment purchases. Every dollar from admissions and sales cycles back into these groups, amplifying aid in a region where rural food insecurity affects one in eight households, per state reports. The food bank, based in Hughesville, uses such contributions for its annual holiday drives, stocking pantries through March.
The fairgrounds, with its livestock barns and exhibit halls, transforms for the market into a village of tents and twinkling paths, accommodating up to 5,000 visitors over three days based on prior estimates. Parking fills lots off La Plata Road, with shuttle options from overflow areas during peak evening hours. Weather permitting, fireworks sync to holiday tunes on Saturday night, a draw since the event’s early years.
For Charles County residents, the market folds into broader holiday circuits, like the county’s lighted boat parades on Port Tobacco River or wreath workshops at Nanjemoy farms. It bolsters small businesses in Waldorf and Indian Head, where artisans source materials from nearby potters and woodworkers. The 4-H club’s involvement ties to the fair’s agricultural roots, teaching youth about event logistics alongside animal husbandry shown during the September fair.
Updates appear on the event’s Facebook page, including sponsor shoutouts for 2025 from local firms that underwrite lighting and stages. As the 13th edition approaches, organizers stress its evolution from a modest gathering to a fixture that blends commerce, culture and charity in Southern Maryland’s winter landscape.