What's on in Dayton, November 2026 to February 2027

Dayton does not go quiet when the clocks fall back. From the last weeks of November through the end of February, downtown fills its evenings with lights, music and markets, the riverfront turns into an ice rink, and the city's stages and galleries keep their doors open through the coldest stretch of the year.

Here is what is on, with dates as each organizer publishes them. Schedules do change, so check the organizer's own page, listed in our sources, before you head out.

Holiday lights and a tree on the square

A Carillon Christmas returns to Carillon Historical Park on Carillon Boulevard from November 24 through December 30, open every evening except Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Dayton History adds more than 44,000 lights to the park, with its musical Carillon Tree of Light at the center. Santa is in residence through December 23. New this year are a Search for Scipio scavenger hunt, roaming Victorian carolers, a Merry Melody Stage and an ice-themed display in the rose garden. The train, the Carousel of Dayton Innovation, gingerbread and roasted chestnuts at Morris and Hetzel Bakery and the Wright Brothers National Museum are all part of these nights. It is a ticketed event; members and very young children get in free.

Downtown's Dayton Holiday Festival begins on Friday, December 4, now that the Grande Illumination has moved to the first Friday in December. The tree on Courthouse Square, strung with about 50,000 lights, is lit at 6:30 p.m., with live music on the main stage beforehand. The same evening, the Dayton Arcade hosts free children's crafts and the gingerbread house contest display, the Arcade's north shops stay open, Daniel Tiger and friends visit the International Peace Museum, and the Junior League's Holiday Adventure hands a free book to children who complete every stop. Free Dayton holiday history tours leave from the Old Courthouse at 5:15 and 7 p.m., with reservations required. The whole evening doubles as a holiday First Friday across downtown.

All through December downtown

The festival keeps going after the lighting. The Rike's Holiday Windows, presented by Dayton Live as a reimagining of the old Rike's department store windows that once stood at that busy corner, are on view in the Schuster Center Wintergarden at Second and Main from November 21 through January 3, free of charge. The Dayton Arcade hosts free Santa photos on Saturday mornings, December 5, 12 and 19, and THE NEON on East Fifth Street screens a free-for-kids family film at 11 a.m. on the same three Saturdays. From December 1 to 31, children can hunt for elves hidden in the windows of participating downtown businesses.

Markets and a 25th birthday

The 2nd Street Market, Five Rivers MetroParks' market in a 1911 freight house on East Second Street, is marking 25 years in its downtown home with a run of holiday events. The Global Artisan Market on Sunday, November 22, brings together artisans who moved to Dayton from countries including India, Sudan, Japan, Colombia and Nigeria, with music and demonstrations. Stock Up Wednesday on November 25 opens the market on an extra day for Thanksgiving sides, desserts and flowers.

On Thursday, December 10, the market stays open into the evening for Holiday Magic, with Santa and carolers, on the middle night of Holly Days at the Arcade, which runs December 9 to 11 with entertainment and shopping on the Arcade's levels. A free RTA shuttle runs between the two and the Oregon District garage. Breakfast with Santa at the market on December 13 requires registration, and a Santa Market Stroll follows that day and again on December 19.

If you park in the Oregon District for the shuttle, Lucky's Taproom and Eatery on East Fifth Street serves brunch, lunch and dinner, with plenty of vegan dishes beside the traditional ones and a long list of rotating craft taps.

On stage

Dayton Ballet's The Nutcracker, in Brandon Ragland's production set in Dayton itself, plays the Schuster Center with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra on December 11 to 13 and 18 to 20. For grown-ups, the Human Race Theatre Company stages Reindeer Sessions, a comedy about Blitzen in anger management, at the Loft Theatre from December 9 to 20; it is recommended for ages 15 and up. Dayton Live's calendar also lists Clue from November 24 to 29, A Christmas Story: The Musical from December 4 to 6 and The Littlest Angel on December 18 and 19.

Into the new year

The MetroParks Ice Rink under the RiverScape pavilion on East Monument Avenue opens on Friday, November 27, with an opening-day skate and an evening Frosty Kickoff, and stays open through February 26. Skates can be rented on site, learn-to-skate courses for children and adults begin November 29, and wheelchairs are welcome on the ice. Broomball and curling leagues take over on weeknights in January and February.

At the Dayton Art Institute in Belmonte Park, two quilt exhibitions share the winter: Wall Power!, quilts from the American Folk Art Museum, through January 10, and six panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in Power of Remembrance through January 3. Exploring Feminism remains on view through January 31.

And on the first Friday of every month, downtown's galleries, shops and restaurants open their doors from 5 to 10 p.m. for First Friday, a free evening of exhibit openings, street performers and live music.

Bundle up, pick a night and go. Most of this season's best evenings in Dayton cost little or nothing, and every one of them is better with a crowd.