Which day of the Snowball Festival should you go? The Icehouse Amphitheater lists the 2026 festival for Thursday, December 3 through Saturday, December 5. Admission is free all three days, but each day has a different program. Thursday is an evening of shopping. Friday packs the craft fair, Santa, the tree lighting and a movie into four hours. Saturday is a daytime carnival. If you only make one, the program for that day is all you'll see.
Lexington's late-fall calendar builds toward that weekend, so here is the season in order and where the festival fits.
Before December, the Icehouse runs ticketed shows
The Icehouse spends the weeks before the festival as a concert venue. Two shows are left before the holiday programming starts, and both are on Fridays. Back in Black, an AC/DC tribute, plays October 30, the day after this post goes up. Cowboy Mouth follows on November 6. Both are listed with ticket purchase links on the Icehouse Amphitheater events page. The Snowball days show as free events on that same page.
After Cowboy Mouth, the Icehouse calendar has nothing listed until December 3. In between, the holiday season starts a few blocks away. The Greater Lexington Chamber's community calendar lists Magic on Church Street: A Lexington United Methodist Christmas Festival for Saturday, November 21, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is the one downtown holiday event listed between the last November concert and the festival. That makes it the first chance to get into the season before the Icehouse switches over.
Thursday, December 3: the evening built around shopping
Day one is the craft fair alone. The Icehouse listing for Day #1 runs it from 4 to 8 p.m. with 66 local vendors selling handcrafted gifts, home decor and holiday goods. The page doesn't list a ceremony, a movie or a Santa photo session. The evening is about the vendor tables.
It is also the only festival day with food vendors already named. Tasty Treats To Go and Rooted Coffee are scheduled to serve desserts and warm drinks. The page notes that vendors rotate and are subject to change, and that outside food and drink is not permitted. The Friday and Saturday pages still list their vendors as TBA. If you want to know ahead of time who will be pouring the hot drinks, Thursday is the only day that answers that right now.
Thursday is also the first look at the vendors. The Friday listing says 66 vendors too. Thursday is the version without a tree-lighting crowd arriving at 6:30.
Friday, December 4: the night everything overlaps
Friday puts the most into the shortest window. The Day #2 and Tree Lighting listing calls it the "annual Tree Lighting Ceremony, Christmas Craft Fair & Movie at the Icehouse Amphitheater." Here is how the evening runs, according to the listing:
- 4:00 p.m. Doors open. The craft fair begins and Santa photos start. Both run until 8 p.m.
- 6:30 p.m. The tree lighting ceremony starts "promptly," with a performance by the Riverbluff High School choir and a special message from Watershed Fellowship.
- 7:30 p.m. ELF screens at the amphitheater.
- 8:00 p.m. The craft fair and Santa photos wrap up, about half an hour into the movie.
That timing gives you some choices. Families who want Santa photos without a long wait near the ceremony can come at 4 and finish the photo before the tree lighting draws people in. If the tree lighting is the main reason you're coming, plan around the 6:30 start, since the listing stresses that it begins on time. And if you plan to stay for ELF, the vendor tables stay open for the movie's first thirty minutes, so you can still shop then.
Friday is the only day with the ceremony, the choir and the movie. If a December evening at the Icehouse is a tradition in your house, this is the date to put on the calendar.
Saturday, December 5: daylight and the carnival
The festival ends with a completely different program. The Carnival listing runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes:
- Rides and attractions
- Face painting and balloon animal art
- Pictures with Santa
- Free cookies, while supplies last
There is no craft fair listed for Saturday. The Saturday program is rides, face painting and Santa. With the 11 to 3 hours, it is the only part of the festival that happens entirely in daylight. That suits households with younger children who are in bed long before an evening movie would end. Saturday is also the second chance for a Santa photo if Friday's schedule doesn't work. Vendors for the day are still listed as TBA.
Getting there, and the block around the amphitheater
The festival pages share a few practical rules across all three days. Outside food and drink isn't allowed, and ADA seating and parking are limited. Visitors who need accessible parking should arrive early, especially Friday, when the tree lighting and the movie bring in the evening crowd.
The streets near the Icehouse are changing too. A four-story, 111-room Courtyard by Marriott is being built at 116 E. Main St. The State reported completion by the end of 2026 and an opening in early 2027. The Lexington County Chronicle projected a spring 2027 grand opening. Either way, this year's festival takes place next to a hotel that is expected to open in 2027.
Parking is part of that same downtown work. In February, WIS reported that the Town was moving forward with a 99-space lot at Church and Corley streets. Construction was expected to begin in August and take about six months. The plan reserved 35% of the spaces for hotel overflow and five for EV charging, with the remaining spaces planned to be free. On that timeline, the lot would still be a work in progress on festival weekend, so plan on the parking you already use downtown.
If you want a stop before or after the festival, the old Cafe Strudel building at 309 S. Lake Dr. has a new tenant. The Chronicle reported in April that a cinnamon roll business was coming to the site. Cinnamon Roll Deli then announced a June 29 grand opening, and its site lists the Lexington address with online ordering. Since the festival doesn't allow outside food, enjoy anything from there before you go in or after you leave.
After the lights, the Icehouse sells tickets again
The festival weekend is the free stretch of the Icehouse's holiday season. Ticketed shows come back eight days later. Tokyo Joe Productions brings Southern Sky, a tribute to the Eagles, to the amphitheater on Sunday, December 13. It is listed with a ticket link, like the October and November concerts.
Here is the full stretch from the last Halloween-weekend show to mid-December:
- Friday, October 30: Back in Black, AC/DC tribute, ticketed, Icehouse Amphitheater
- Friday, November 6: Cowboy Mouth, ticketed, Icehouse Amphitheater
- Saturday, November 21: Magic on Church Street, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Lexington United Methodist
- Thursday, December 3: Snowball craft fair, 4 to 8 p.m., free
- Friday, December 4: Craft fair, Santa photos, 6:30 p.m. tree lighting, 7:30 p.m. ELF, free
- Saturday, December 5: Snowball Carnival, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., free
- Sunday, December 13: Southern Sky, Eagles tribute, ticketed, Icehouse Amphitheater
Event pages can change as December gets closer, and the Friday and Saturday vendor lists are still to be announced. Check the Icehouse listings the week of the festival before you head out.
When Kia, JaVarion and our three sons head to a December tree lighting, we compare calendars first and pick the night that works for the whole family. If you're new to Lexington or thinking about moving closer to its downtown, we're happy to talk through how a neighborhood fits the routines and traditions that matter to you. The Better Move Team is here when you're ready. Contact Us.
