Unique New Vendors | Better Accessibility for Disabled
Special Note: Poster Signing by Stars and Director of “A Cherry Pie Christmas” on Sat. Dec. 13
The Sister Bay Historical Society has announced the dates for its 5th Annual Christkindlmarkt, or Christmas market. Christkindlmarkt will take place on three weekends in November and December, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. This year’s dates are Nov. 28–30, Dec. 5–7, and Dec. 12–14.
Christkindlmarkt events are held throughout the world, especially throughout northern Europe, where their origin goes back to the 13th Century. Christkindlmarkt Door County is highly unique in that it takes place in an outdoor setting, rather than a large urban location, at the Sister Bay Historical Society’s Corner of the Past Museum on the outskirts of the Village of Sister Bay in Door County, Wisconsin.
Door County’s popular Christkindlmarkt showcases vendors selling handcrafted, mainly locally-made goods, plus food booths selling traditional German and Nordic street food and drinks. The first four Christkindlmarkt Door County events (2021-2024) were hugely popular and each drew more than 10,000 enthusiastic visitors. Besides the Sister Bay Historical Society, the event’s main sponsors are Nicolet National Bank, Door County Piggly Wiggly, Door County Medical Center, Island Orchard Cider, Door County North, the business association for far northern Door County, and Carlson-Erickson Builders.
VENDORS
The event will once again be held at the Corner of the Past Museum, a rustic imagining of a historical pioneer homestead in the late 19th century. The event’s 45 artisan vendors include jewelers, photographers, painters, woodworkers, beekeepers, and glass blowers, plus makers of tree ornaments, candy, quilts, glassware, clothing, hats, socks, scarves, handmade alpaca items, furniture, toys, candles, leather goods, puzzles, health/wellness products, and more. Christkindlmarkt will also feature The Bookshop, a Door County-focused bookstore featuring books by over 20 well-known Door County authors.
HOT FOOD & FOOD ITEMS
This year’s event has more locally-produced food items than previously, including Renard’s Cheese,
Koepsel’s Farm Market, Mister Burns Peppertorium (hot sauces), and a variety of candy makers.
Thyme Restaurant, Culinaria, Wally’s Weenie Wagon, and Henriksen’s Fish House will all serve reasonably-priced Northern European-inspired entrees, side dishes and desserts in a ‘food court’ inside the property’s large Koessl Barn. Two well-known local food trucks — 888 Cheese Co. and Savor BBQ — will also serve special menus from a location just outside of the entrance to the main vendor tent. In honor of a new Christmas movie filmed last March and April on the Christkindlmarkt property, the Sister Bay Historical Society will be offering “Cherry Pie in a Cup” at the event’s new Cherry Pie Shop, located next door to the Koessl Barn.
ACCESSIBILITY
A major change on the Christkindlmarkt property focuses on making the event’s walkways, paths, and gathering areas more accessible and safer for disabled attendees. “This event takes place outdoors during a northern Wisconsin winter, so there have been a few accessibility issues for disabled attendees from the outset,” said John Lijewski, president of the Sister Bay Historical Society. “But we think we’ve solved some of those issues for this year’s event. We received a grant from the Door County Community Investment Fund this summer and have used it to install an environmentally-friendly paving system on our property’s major walkways and gathering areas. The system has better traction than our previous raw gravel walkways and allows more water from snow and ice to slip into the ground before freezing in place. We’ve also dedicated significantly more parking spots in our Vendor Parking Lot to attendees who have mobility issues.”
GLÜHWEIN
Christkindlmarkt events always feature hot mulled red wine, known as Glühwein in Germany and Glögg in Sweden. The Historical Society will serve its Glühwein from a special ‘drinks hut’ that will also serve hot chocolate and hot apple cider. Attendees have the option of purchasing their hot Glühwein in a collectible Glühwein mug that was designed by Kari Anderson, a Door County watercolor artist who will also display and sell her artwork in one of the event’s historic buildings.
PEACH BARN FARMHOUSE BREWERY
Returning for 2025, Peach Barn Farmhouse Brewery is the event’s exclusive beer vendor, serving an array of fine beers from the Music & Beer Hall tent just behind the event’s Drinks Hut. Peach Barn is also once again brewing a special Winter Ale for Christkindlmarkt. In its first appearance at Christkindlmarkt, Island Orchard Cider of Ellison Bay is supplying one of its award-winning hard apple ciders to Christkindlmarkt, available for purchase in the Drinks Hut.
ANDERSON HOUSE BAKERY
Anderson House, the refurbished late 1800’s home on the museum property, will again feature the popular pop-up bakery that debuted at the first annual event, and will offer a wide selection of decorated cookies, cardamom coffeecake, pecan rolls, pies, and other baked goods. A unique selection of new and gently used Christmas ornaments and decorations, plus vintage-style toys, will also be on display and for sale in Anderson House.
KIDS’ CRAFT CORNER
The popular Kids’ Craft Corner will return to the Christkindlmarkt Food Barn, with two Saturday children’s activities from noon-4pm. Children can decorate and personalize a holiday ornament or write a letter to Santa Claus on printed stationery (Sister Bay’s USPS office has a special mailbox for their letters). All materials and art supplies are complimentary; children must be accompanied by an adult.
LIVE MUSIC
Live Christmas music at this year’s market will be performed on the stage inside the Music & Beer Hall:
Sat., Nov. 29, 2:00-3:00 pm – Carolers from Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church in Ellison Bay
Sat., Dec. 6, 1:00-2:00 pm – joint performance by Gibraltar Middle School & High School Bands
Sat., Dec. 6, 2:00-3:00 pm – Gibraltar High School Jazz Combo
Sat., Dec. 6, 3:30-4:30 pm – The Zelnio Family and Friends Carolers
Fri., Dec. 12, 1:00-3:00 pm – Singer-Guitarist Billy Dave Sherman
Sat., Dec. 13, 1:00-2:00 pm – Gibraltar Elementary & Middle School Choirs
(Check for updates and additional performances on the Sister Bay Historical Society’s Facebook page or the event website: doorcountychristmasmarket.com.)
On other days and times, recorded Christmas music will be a constant presence on the event property.
THE CHRISTKIND
Like most Christkindlmarkts throughout the world, the event in Sister Bay will feature a visit from the “Christkind,” which translates to “Christ child” in German. The Christkind’s origins go back to the Protestant reformer Martin Luther in the early 1500’s, and the Christkind is still the bearer of Christmas gifts to most children in German-speaking countries, just as Santa Claus is to children in the United States. This year’s Christkind will rotate among children from a local family on a regular schedule. Check the Sister Bay Historical Society’s Facebook page or the event website (doorcountychristmasmarket.com) for more details. At Christkindlmarkt, you can easily recognize the Christkind from her gold-and-white robes and the gold crown upon her blonde head.
A CHRISTMAS MOVIE
This past March and April, the Christkindlmarkt event location at Corner of the Past Museum was the site of a new original movie produced by a team that has created several popular Christmas movies in
recent years. Originally titled “A Cherry Pie Christmas,” the resulting film was released with a new title (“A Wisconsin Christmas Pie”) by streaming platform Great American Media on October 9 and will premiere in Door County at the Door Community Auditorium (with its original title) on December 13.
MOVIE POSTER SIGNING
The film’s stars (Katie Leclerc and Ryan Carnes) and Director John Stimpson will all visit Christkindlmarkt’s Cherry Pie Shop in the early afternoon of December 13 to sign copies of promotional posters in a fundraiser for the Sister Bay Historical Society. Check the Sister Bay Historical Society’s Facebook page or the event website (doorcountychristmasmarket.com) for more details.
PARKING
Corner of the Past Museum is located at the corner of Fieldcrest Rd. and Hwy 57 in Sister Bay (10310 Fieldcrest Rd.). Attendee parking is at three nearby Sister Bay locations, each with a large parking lot: the two free lots are at the former Shopko Hometown (2541 S. Bay Shore Dr.) and Stella Maris Catholic Church (2410 S. Bay Shore Dr.). Throughout the day and evening, buses will continuously ferry attendees from these nearby parking lots to the event, bringing people quickly back to their vehicles on a regular schedule. Finally, the Corner of the Past parking lot on State Hwy 57 is next to Thyme Restaurant, within walking distance of the event, and requires a $20 parking fee. Find the entrance to each of the parking lots by looking for the roadside signage. (One other parking option is still under consideration, said John Lijewski, president of the Sister Bay Historical Society — if that option materializes, he noted, attendees can find details at doorcountychristmasmarket.com.)
If you are staying at any of the following Northern Door lodging facilities during Christkindlmarkt, a shuttle bus will pick you up at the front door of your lodgings and deliver you directly to the event property — SISTER BAY: Birchwood Lodge, Coachlite Inn, Country House Resort, Dörr Hotel, Open Hearth Lodge, Pheasant Park Resort, Scandinavian Lodge; EPHRAIM: High Point Inn
OUR SPONSORS
Christkindlmarkt Door County is organized and managed by the Sister Bay Historical Society as a fundraiser for its operations, especially its upcoming new History Center, the former Little Sister Barn. The event is presented each year with the assistance of its primary sponsor, Nicolet National Bank. Other major sponsors include Door County Medical Center, Door County Piggly Wiggly, Island Orchard Cider, and Carlson-Erickson Builders. The Door County North business association, which promotes the interests of the Town of Liberty Grove, is the event’s transportation sponsor. The Village of Sister Bay is also a major sponsor and has been one of the market’s biggest boosters from the beginning, assisting with traffic and parking control equipment, use of the Village shuttle, and other support.
