Starting Nov. 9, the shop windows along downtown Antioch carry QR codes. Scan one and you get a chapter of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Scan the next window down the block and you get the next chapter. The trail is free, there's no start time, and it runs every day through Nov. 30, courtesy of title sponsor Raymond Chevrolet Kia. A week after it ends, a Grinch trail starts in downtown businesses. Then from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, Christmas at Kringle's is open at 510 Orchard Street every day.
The Antioch Chamber of Commerce and the Village have built this fall and winter on two separate calendars. One is a short list of one-day events, several of them ticketed. The other is a free layer that never closes. From Nov. 9 through Jan. 1, the free layer runs without a single day off. Once you know where one calendar ends and the other starts, you'll know which dates need a plan and which don't.
Through Nov. 7, the season happens on Saturdays
The next four weekends follow a simple pattern. Each Saturday has its own one-day lineup, and if you miss it, it's gone.
| Date | Event | Where | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Witches Day Out | Launch party at Rivalry Alehouse, then a hunt through downtown shops | Party starts at noon, scavenger hunt runs 1 to 4 p.m., capped at 200 tickets |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Treat the Streets, then Harvest Fall Fest | Downtown businesses, then the Bandshell at 900 Skidmore Drive | Trick-or-treating 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., festival noon to 4 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Village trick-or-treat hours | Village-wide | 3 to 7 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Champagne Stroll | Mimosa bar and brunch launch, then participating shops, restaurants and bars | Downtown stroll runs noon to 4 p.m. |
Witches Day Out needs the earliest decision. The Chamber caps it at 200 tickets, and the day includes a costume contest, raffles and the scavenger hunt through participating shops. Treat the Streets and Harvest Fall Fest share one Saturday and overlap by an hour, so families can go from downtown trick-or-treating straight to the Bandshell. The Village is promoting hayrides, food vendors, the pumpkin roll and costume contests there. The Champagne Stroll is a long-running Chamber tradition with a new piece this year. It now opens with reserved seating at a build-your-own mimosa bar with brunch bites before the stroll starts.
PM&L Theatre runs alongside these Saturdays. Ride the Cyclone plays through Oct. 31, and She Kills Monsters runs Oct. 16 through Nov. 1. Ticket details are on PM&L's box office page.
Nov. 9 is when the calendar changes shape
After the Champagne Stroll, there's no one-day event for two weeks. The Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Trail opens Nov. 9 instead and runs through Nov. 30. Families follow the story in QR codes posted in participating business windows, at their own pace and at no cost.
From that date on, something free is open downtown every day until New Year's:
- Nov. 9 to 30: Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Trail in downtown windows.
- Nov. 26 to Jan. 1: Christmas at Kringle's and the Dickens Holiday Village, daily, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., free admission.
- Dec. 7 to 31: The "Did the Grinch Steal Christmas" trail, which unlocks each chapter through QR codes at participating businesses and has extra surprises inside the shops during business hours.
The two trails don't meet. The first week of December falls between them, and Kringle's showroom fills that week because it's open daily. From Nov. 26 to Nov. 30, the Charlie Brown trail and Kringle's overlap. On Thanksgiving weekend, a family can walk the Charlie Brown windows and then go inside to Kringle's without buying a ticket for either.
The Grinch trail also comes with a practical detail. The Chamber says its extra surprises are inside participating shops when they're open, so that part of the trail depends on store hours.
510 Orchard Street, every day from Thanksgiving to New Year's
The free calendar is built around Christmas at Kringle's. The showroom is at 510 Orchard Street, at the far end of the Piggly Wiggly Plaza past the restaurants. The Chamber says this year's showroom "returns for 2026 with an exciting new look," with new décor and holiday pop-up experiences on select weekends. The Kringle and Dickens displays stay at the center of it.
The Dickens Holiday Village has been inside this showroom for years. Shaw Local's 2022 feature found it inside Kringle's Christmas Village at 510 Orchard St. that year, with 57 lifelike characters in 24 scenes of 1850s life, each with a plaque explaining the story behind it. Shaw Local reported that the project started in 2014 with about 14 characters, after downtown merchant Charlie Lyngaas suggested it in 2012. According to the Chamber's Dickens Village 2026 page, volunteer committees build the figures, sculpt and paint the heads, and develop the clothing and storylines. The scenes come from A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist, including Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim, Marley's Ghost, a lamplighter and an apple peddler.
For 2026, the Chamber is keeping the full Dickens display indoors so the weather doesn't matter. A few scenes go out on downtown sidewalks to point people toward the showroom. Groups of 20 or more can book tours by calling the Chamber at 847.395.2233.
The ticketed dates sit inside the free stretch
Once Nov. 9 arrives, every one-day event happens while the free layer is already open. You can treat each ticketed date as an add-on to a downtown visit you'd be making anyway:
- Fri., Nov. 20 to Sun., Dec. 13: PM&L Theatre's The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!
- Sat., Nov. 21, noon: Bubbles, Bourbon & Brunch at Rivalry Alehouse, with sparkling wine and bourbon tastings plus a talk on how bourbon is made. Individual tickets and full tables are both available.
- Sat., Nov. 28: Shop Small, the Chamber's downtown holiday-shopping day, on the third day Kringle's is open.
- Sat., Nov. 28 to Sat., Dec. 12: PM&L's The Holiday Channel Christmas Movie Wonderthon.
- Sun., Nov. 29: Grinch vs. Santa, with a spaghetti lunch, a screening of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, a kids' craft, a gift and photos with both characters. Visit Lake County lists it at Rivalry Alehouse.
- Sat., Dec. 12, noon to 4 p.m.: The Merry Market at 939 Main Street, a free, pet-friendly market co-hosted by Hometown Events & Pop-Ups and Thrive Pet Supply, with makers, pet businesses, adoptable pets, food and holiday activities.
Thanksgiving weekend has the most going on. From Thursday through Sunday, Kringle's opens, the Charlie Brown trail is in its last week, Shop Small and the Wonderthon opening share Saturday, and Grinch vs. Santa follows on Sunday. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever! is also mid-run.
The Merry Market's host is a newer storefront. Thrive Pet Supply, formerly Best Pets, held its grand opening at 939 Main Street on June 6, according to Mayor Scott Gartner's June 5 message. Two doors down, Rustic & Reclaimed Market at 927 Main Street has sold solid wood furniture, home décor and vintage pieces since 2019, and its sister store, Vintage Mercantile, carries goods from hundreds of artisans. Both are easy stops between QR windows.
What the Village hasn't scheduled yet
Antioch's best-known December traditions are missing from both calendars so far. The Village's special events page lists a Christmas Parade, Santa at the Sawmill and the North Pole Express Train as annual events, but none has a confirmed 2026 date. The Village's 2026–27 program guide lists the Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting, but the date printed beside them is Nov. 26, 2027, so it doesn't confirm a 2026 date either. Visit Lake County's most recent parade listing is still last year's, dated Nov. 28, 2025, the Friday after Thanksgiving. Until the Village announces 2026 dates, those three events remain open questions.
Santa at the Sawmill takes place at the Hiram Buttrick Sawmill in Gage Brothers Park along Sequoit Creek. The Village Board recently approved funding to restore the sawmill's waterwheel. The work includes rebuilding components and replacing deteriorated brackets, bolts and screws while keeping the mill's historic character. The announcement didn't include a construction timeline.
Chipotle is the other unscheduled item. According to the mayor's June message, it received a permit to start building near the Kia dealership after about a two-year wait. That message didn't give an opening date.
Event weekends like these also give downtown a lot of visibility. If you're wondering what your home near Main Street or Orchard Street might be worth before the new year, Renee O'Brien Group can give you a quick, no-pressure answer. Get an Instant Home Valuation.
