On Wednesday evening, November 18, a drone show will rise over Main Street after the tree in Cannon Park is lit. Ten days later, at 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 28, Santa will help light a second tree at The Mill on Etowah on Reformation Parkway.
Canton has two official tree lightings this year with two different hosts. The City of Canton runs the downtown calendar out of Cannon Park at 130 E. Main St. The Mill, a 250,000-square-foot mixed-use development by the Etowah River, runs its own. The two calendars rarely ask for the same evening. Downtown has the weeknights and the second weekend of December. The Mill has Thanksgiving weekend, the weekend before Christmas, and an ice rink that stays open on most days in between. Read together, they make a single season that runs from mid-November into January.
Downtown Runs on Set Dates
Everything on the City's list happens on one particular evening. If you miss it, it's gone until next year.
The Holiday Tree Lighting and Drone Show runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on November 18. The Knox STEM Academy Chorus and the Avery Elementary Chorus will sing, and Tate Fireplaces and Cheshire Heating & Air are sponsoring. The City says the drone show "has quickly become a favorite part of our holiday celebration."
The next Tuesday, November 24, the Canton Farmers Market moves to Brown Park at 251 E. Marietta St. for a Night Market from 5 to 8 p.m. It will have holiday food vendors and a food drive with MUST Ministries, so bringing a few canned goods along with your shopping bag is a good idea.
Most downtown events come in December, and they fall into a clear weekly rhythm:
- Mistletoe on Main, Thursdays December 3, 10 and 17, 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Cannon Park, with free wagon rides and Santa at the park gazebo. Live reindeer come on December 3 and Christmas Pete on December 17.
- Christmas in Canton, Friday, December 11, 6 to 10 p.m. at Cannon Park, with Santa, a petting zoo, wagon rides, inflatables and crafts. Downtown shops plan to stay open late.
- The 39th Annual Downtown Canton Merry Market, Saturday, December 12, noon to 6 p.m. at Cannon Park, with small-business vendors, downtown shops and Santa.
- The Canton Christmas Parade, Saturday, December 12, at 6 p.m., right as the Merry Market closes.
That puts downtown's busiest stretch on Thursday through Saturday, December 10 to 12, with a public event on each of the three nights. The Merry Market listing names Tate Fireplaces, Cheshire Heating & Air and Outback Deck as sponsors, so local businesses are helping pay for the season's most crowded weekend.
The Mill Runs on Open Hours
The Mill's calendar has a different structure. It has a few big weekends, and between them the ice rink keeps the season going.
Rink on the River opens Saturday, November 21, and runs through January 18, 2027. Admission is $15 per person and includes skates and unlimited skating all day. Your wristband lets you leave and come back. Parking on The Mill's property is free.
| Day | Regular rink hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday to Thursday | 4 to 8 p.m. |
| Friday | 4 to 9 p.m. |
| Saturday | 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Sunday | Noon to 8 p.m. |
The rink's schedule shifts around the holidays. It has special hours for opening week, November 21 to 25, extended hours November 27 to 29 for Christmas at The Mill, and school-break hours December 21 to 24 and December 28 to 29. On Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day it runs from noon to 6 p.m., and it closes on Christmas Day. The last day, January 18, runs from noon to 6 p.m. On December 28 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the rink is reserved for children with special needs and their families, and it opens to the public again at 4 p.m.
Check those hours against the downtown list and the rink is open on nearly every downtown event night. The Friday of Christmas in Canton and the Saturday of the parade both fall on the rink's longest days of the week. Families who want to fit in both can skate in the late afternoon and get to Cannon Park in time for the 6 p.m. start.
Thanksgiving Weekend Belongs to The Mill
Downtown has nothing scheduled right after Thanksgiving, and The Mill holds its biggest event then. The sixth annual Christmas at The Mill runs Friday and Saturday, November 27 and 28, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. It has more than 85 vendor booths, ice skating, football on the big screen, holiday treats and photos with Santa.
Saturday's tree lighting begins at 6 p.m. Joe Gransden will perform, and Chicka Elloy of Canton City Lifestyle will host. Christmas at The Mill falls on the last weekend of November, and the Merry Market falls on the second Saturday of December. So Canton's two big outdoor vendor markets are two weeks apart, with one host running each.
December's Last Weekend Before Christmas Moves Back to the River
After downtown's December 10 to 12 stretch, The Mill takes the following weekend, and both of its events are free.
- Grinchmas at The Mill, Friday, December 18, 5 to 9 p.m., with a toy drive, a Grinch meet-and-greet, train rides and an outdoor movie at 7 p.m.
- Polar Express: A Winter Wonderland Festival, Saturday, December 19, 2 to 8 p.m., presented by Goin' Social Events, with Santa, a holiday market and a sing-along movie from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Skating at the rink costs extra that day.
The last Mistletoe on Main is Thursday, December 17, with Christmas Pete at Cannon Park. That gives the week before Christmas three evenings in a row, December 17 to 19. Thursday is downtown, and Friday and Saturday are at The Mill.
The Whole Season on One Calendar
Here are both hosts' dates in a single table, from the November 18 tree lighting to the rink's last day in January.
| Date | Downtown Canton | The Mill on Etowah |
|---|---|---|
| Wed., Nov. 18 | Tree Lighting and Drone Show | |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Rink on the River opens | |
| Tue., Nov. 24 | Night Market at Brown Park | Rink, opening week |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | Christmas at The Mill | |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Christmas at The Mill, tree lighting at 6 p.m. | |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Mistletoe on Main, live reindeer | Rink open |
| Thu., Dec. 10 | Mistletoe on Main | Rink open |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | Christmas in Canton | Rink open |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Merry Market and Christmas Parade | Rink open |
| Thu., Dec. 17 | Mistletoe on Main, Christmas Pete | Rink open |
| Fri., Dec. 18 | Grinchmas | |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Polar Express festival | |
| Mon., Jan. 18 | Rink's final day |
On none of these dates do the two hosts put on headline events at the same time. Only the rink's regular hours run alongside downtown. Each host also has its own big market weekend, and The Mill adds a smaller market on December 19.
What Stays Open Between Events
Because the season moves between two places, where you eat or shop before and after each event matters. Downtown, the City says shops will stay open late on December 11, and the Merry Market on December 12 includes downtown storefronts along with visiting vendors.
At The Mill, the food and drink tenants listed on its site include Reformation Brewery, Whitetail Coffee, Fermented Wine Boutique, Giggle Monsters Craft Donuts, Sweet Joy Ice Cream, Nava Taqueria and Magnolia Villa. For gifts, the directory lists Cotton Mill Exchange; The Shoppes at The Mill, which includes Be Brand, Whole Soul, Flower Shoppe, M&M Mercantile and Alpine Leather; and Nomadic Flow Outfitters. The Mill's shop page also lists Damsel Bookstore, Practically Perfect Salon & Spa and Engine Bay Barber Co.
A rink session on a weeknight runs from 4 p.m. until 8 or 9 p.m. Whitetail Coffee before skating or Nava Taqueria after it makes an easy weeknight outing in a month when every Thursday, Friday and Saturday seems taken.
When the holidays are over, the calendar turns back to the ordinary routines of home and neighborhood. If you're thinking about how your Canton home fits the life you want to live here, from downtown on parade night to the river in January, Bonnie Smith and our team are happy to talk it through on your schedule.
