Dahlonega shopping events: markets, festivals and the Square calendar

These are the Dahlonega events that matter to a shopper: markets, the Christmas season on the Square and the festivals that bring artists and vendors downtown. Every date is the organizer’s own, checked Oct 19, 2026. Filter the calendar by kind, add any event to your calendar, or save a list.

Coming up this fall

Scares on the Square: Saturday, Oct 31, 2026, 5 to 7 p.m. Halloween trick-or-treating through downtown, with businesses around the Square handing out candy (Dahlonega DDA).

The Christmas season: from Friday, Nov 27, 2026. The organizer lists the Lighting of the Square on Nov 27, 3 to 8 p.m., the Christmas Market in Hancock Park from Dec 5 to 13 and the parade on Saturday, Dec 12 at noon. Small Business Saturday is Nov 28. Every date, plus December evening hours, is on Christmas shopping in Dahlonega.

The season at a glance, from the organizer’s 2026 schedule (Christmas in Dahlonega):

• Lighting of the Square: Friday, Nov 27, 3 to 8 p.m., at the Visitors Center.
• Visit Santa: Nov 27 to Dec 29 at the Visitors Center; check the organizer’s schedule for exact days and times.
• Small Business Saturday: Saturday, Nov 28.
• Christmas Market: Dec 5 to 13, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., in Hancock Park.
• Christmas Parade: Saturday, Dec 12, noon to 1 p.m.
• Kid’s Day: Saturday, Dec 19, 2 to 4 p.m., in Hancock Park.
• Free Christmas movie: Monday, Dec 21, at the Holly Theatre.

Spring 2027

Dahlonega Literary Festival. A free festival held every year in early March (Visitors Bureau). The 2027 dates are not published yet.

Chocolate Crawl. The Visitors Bureau’s 6th annual Chocolate Crawl ran March 5 to 8, 2026, with a passport from the Visitor Center and samples at downtown shops (Visitors Bureau). The 2027 dates are not posted yet.

Bear on the Square Mountain Festival: Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18, 2027. A free Appalachian music festival with a juried artist marketplace of more than 70 booths around the Square: textiles, pottery, woodworking and other traditional crafts (Bear on the Square). Much of the street parking is blocked that weekend, so the organizers recommend the free parking in UNG’s deck off West Main Street or UNG’s surface lot off South Chestatee.

Dahlonega Arts & Wine Festival. Held every year on the third weekend in May, per the Visitors Bureau. The 2027 date is not published yet.

Summer: the farmers market and First Fridays

The Dahlonega Farmers Market is held in Hancock Park each year from May through October (City of Dahlonega). In 2026 it ran Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the last listed market was Saturday, Oct 10 (Dahlonega DDA). The 2027 season is expected to start in May; dates are not published yet.

First Friday concerts run in Hancock Park on the first Friday of each month, May through October, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The 2026 series ended on Oct 2 (Dahlonega DDA).

Fall: Gold Rush Days

Gold Rush Days is Dahlonega’s largest festival, with over 300 art, craft and food vendors around the Public Square, held every year on the third full weekend in October (Visitors Bureau). The 2026 festival was Oct 17 and 18 (Gold Rush Days). The 2027 date is not published yet; by the third-full-weekend pattern, watch mid-October and confirm with the organizer.

Most Saturdays, and any day

The Visitors Bureau lists Saturday-afternoon Appalachian Jams in front of the Gold Museum on the Square. Bears Around the Square is a free self-guided walk to 10 small bronze bear statues around the downtown square, each standing for a figure from Dahlonega’s past (Dahlonega DDA); it fits between shops on any day.

Festival drink rules

Dahlonega has city open-container laws. The council has suspended enforcement only inside specific festival alcohol areas, such as the 2025 Arts and Wine Festival footprint, not downtown in general (City of Dahlonega). Keep drinks inside the festival area the organizer marks.

Shopping on a festival weekend

Festivals put vendors in the street, but the shops around the Square still keep their own hours, and none of them publishes special festival hours that we found. Use the shop hours table for the day, and expect street parking to be scarce. On a festival Saturday the Gold Museum in the middle of the Square keeps its usual 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. hours (Georgia State Parks), unless the state says otherwise.

1. Oct31Scares on the SquareSaturday · 5 pm
2. Nov27Lighting of the SquareFriday · 3 pm
3. Nov27Visit SantaFriday · 3 pm
4. Nov28Small Business SaturdaySaturday

Before you go

Organizers change plans, so follow the source link on any event before a special trip. For shop hours on the day you come, use the shop hours table; for festival-day parking, see our parking page.

Questions people ask