This December, all three performances of the St. Olaf Christmas Festival are at Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. The dates are Friday, Dec. 4 at 8 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Last year the festival ran Dec. 5 through 7 in Skoglund Auditorium on the Hill.
St. Olaf first planned this move in 2023 as part of a two-year rotation. The current plan is shorter. The festival FAQ says it returns to Skoglund in 2027, so this is a single December away. For that one season, Northfield's holiday music spreads out to Carleton's halls, a church sanctuary, a chapel service on festival weekend and downtown on Winter Walk night. Several of those events are free.
A Rotation Plan, Then a Shorter One
St. Olaf laid out the plan in a November 27, 2023 news release. The 2023 festival went to Orchestra Hall, "just like it was in 2022." The 2024 and 2025 festivals came back to Skoglund. After that, the college said it would rotate between the two venues: "two years at Orchestra Hall, followed by two years on campus, and so on."
The Northfield News reported that the college settled on the rotation after collecting feedback from students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni. The two campus years were tied to St. Olaf's sesquicentennial. The paper quoted artistic director Anton Armstrong, who said the plan would "afford the students and audience alike the best of both locations." He pointed to "the superior acoustics of Orchestra Hall" for the more than 500 student musicians, and to the sense of "Homecoming" of a campus festival. In December 2024, KYMN Radio covered the return to campus: three performances in Skoglund Auditorium after two years in Minneapolis.
Under that plan, 2026 and 2027 would both have been Orchestra Hall years. St. Olaf's current festival FAQ says otherwise. It confirms Orchestra Hall for 2026 and says the festival "will return to Skoglund Auditorium on the campus of St. Olaf College in 2027."
| Year | Festival venue |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis |
| 2023 | Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis |
| 2024 | Skoglund Auditorium, St. Olaf campus |
| 2025 | Skoglund Auditorium, St. Olaf campus |
| 2026 | Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis |
| 2027 | Skoglund Auditorium, per the current FAQ |
That makes December 2026 the only year since 2023 that the festival is away from the Hill.
Tickets Run Through Orchestra Hall
The venue change also changes how you buy tickets. The Orchestra Hall box office handles all ticketing for the 2026 festival. The presale runs Oct. 26 through 30, and the public sale starts Monday, Nov. 2. Minnesota Orchestra Ticket Services can help at 612-371-5656.
To watch from home, St. Olaf will livestream the Saturday evening performance only. An edited on-demand stream that pulls the best selections from all three performances is expected Dec. 16 at 7 p.m., according to the festival FAQ. The FAQ says watch parties and festival dining are still to be announced.
The Hill Stays Busy Before December
St. Olaf's own concert calendar in Northfield keeps going. Its upcoming list includes:
- PipeScreams, Friday, Oct. 30 at 8:15 p.m.
- Dance concert, Saturday, Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
- Percussion Ensemble, Thursday, Nov. 19 at 8:15 p.m.
- Senior dance capstone, Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m.
All are listed at campus venues on the St. Olaf concert calendar.
November's Free Concerts Are Across the River
A lot of this season's live music lands in the middle of November, about three weeks before the festival weekend. Carleton's music department lists five public performances in five days. Carleton says its listed events are free and open to the public.
| Date | Performance | Time and venue |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Orchestra Concert | 7:30 p.m., Kracum Performance Hall |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Carleton Choirs Concert | 7 p.m., Kracum Performance Hall |
| Sun., Nov. 15 | Chamber Music Recital | 2 p.m., Kracum Performance Hall |
| Mon., Nov. 16 | Wind, Brass & Percussion Recital | 4 p.m., Applebaum Recital Hall |
| Wed., Nov. 18 | Strings Recital | 7 p.m., Kracum Performance Hall |
The full list is on Carleton's music events page. Carleton's arts calendar currently shows nothing for December, so for Carleton ensembles this November stretch is the season.
The weekend after, Saturday, Nov. 21, has two events in town. The Cannon Valley Regional Orchestra plays its "Mother Earth" concert at 3 p.m. at St. John's Lutheran Church, 500 Third Street West. That same day, the Riverwalk Market Fair opens its winter season at Northfield Middle School.
Downtown's two November shopping days come before and after those concerts. The Northfield Chamber lists Save-A-Buck on Saturday, Nov. 7, and Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28.
Festival Weekend Still Has a Northfield Side
On Saturday, Dec. 5, while the choirs perform twice on Nicollet Mall, the Riverwalk Market Fair holds its second winter market at Northfield Middle School.
The Sunday after the festival brings the music back to campus, and St. Olaf lists both events as part of festival weekend.
- St. Olaf Band, Chapel Performance. Sunday, Dec. 6, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., in Boe Memorial Chapel.
- Holiday Handbells. Sunday, Dec. 6, noon to 1 p.m., in Buntrock Commons. St. Olaf lists it as free and open to the public.
In 2025, that same Sunday slot on campus held a full festival performance at 3 p.m. in Skoglund. Check the band's listing before you go, since it does not say whether the chapel performance is open to the public.
Dec. 10 Puts the Season Downtown
The 28th annual Winter Walk is Thursday, Dec. 10. Visit Northfield lists it from 5 to 10 p.m. downtown. The Northfield Chamber's Winter Walk page gives this year's lineup by block.
- 4:30 p.m.: horses get harnessed and hitched in the Family Fare parking lot
- Horse and wagon rides: the 300 block, the 500 block and over the 4th Street Bridge
- Bridge Square: Santa, plus Candy Land and a Gingerbread House
- 600 block: the Polar Express, and real-life reindeer from 5 to 7 p.m.
- The library: trains and handbell choirs
- 8:30 p.m.: fireworks
New this year, according to the Chamber, are a flash mob, a DJJD Royalty Storytime and pictures with the Grinch along with Santa. Luminaries and decorated storefronts line the route. The Riverwalk Market Fair also sets up in Armory Square that night, an extra market on top of its Saturday schedule.
Dec. 12 Brings Two More Performances
Two days after Winter Walk, the Northfield Youth Choirs hold their Winter Concert on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 3 p.m. in Skinner Memorial Chapel at Carleton. Admission is free and open to the public. At 7 p.m. that evening, St. Olaf's senior dance capstone is on campus. The Riverwalk Market Fair wraps up its winter markets on Dec. 19 at Northfield Middle School.
The festival is still worth the drive to Nicollet Mall, and tickets go on public sale Nov. 2. Around it, Northfield's own season runs from the Carleton concerts in mid-November to the Youth Choirs on Dec. 12. The Carleton concerts, the Buntrock handbells and the Youth Choirs concert are all listed as free, and the festival is set to be back in Skoglund in 2027.
From our office in downtown Owatonna, we follow these calendars across Steele County and Rice County because they affect when families make plans, including plans to sell or buy. If you own a home in Northfield and want to know where its value stands before the new year, Matthew Gillard and the team at RE/MAX Venture can give you a free home valuation, whether you spend this December on Nicollet Mall or on Bridge Square.
