Camp North End starts its holiday season in stages. VTGCLT Pop opens inside the site on Friday, November 13. The Camp North Pole ice rink follows on November 21. The Mistletoe Market takes over the Ford Factory on the first three Saturdays of December. All of it builds toward Saturday, December 12, when the market, an art fair, a dog parade, the pop-up shop and the rink all run within the same few hours.
The order matters more this year because the site's most regular weekday reason to visit is gone. For residents of the North End and the neighborhoods around it, the winter calendar is now the clearest picture of how Camp plans to bring people back.
The Wednesday Market Ended in April
For five years, the North End Farmers Market ran at Camp North End every Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m. through October, with vendors selling produce, meat, baked goods and handmade products. In April, CharlotteFive reported that the development had declined to host the market for 2026, and the market's operators said it was too late in the year to set up somewhere else.
Camp pointed to falling attendance and participation and said hosting the weekly market "became unsustainable." Varian Shrum, Camp's chief of staff, told CharlotteFive that Camp had been the market's sole sponsor for five years and that "our team is now evaluating new programming opportunities, and we look forward to announcing more soon."
That decision came about two months after a change in ownership. In February, Jamestown, the firm behind Optimist Hall, Birkdale Village and Atlanta's Ponce City Market, became general partner of the 76-acre site. It now leads leasing, design and development, and ATCO Properties & Management remains a partner. In the same announcement, ATCO co-president Damon Hemmerdinger said Camp was home to more than 95 businesses and organizations and drew more than one million visitors the previous year.
Since then, Camp's programming has come in concentrated stretches. Jamestown's April roundup listed a Spring Hunt on April 4, the VTG CLT Spring Market on April 11 and Empanada Fest on April 18, alongside tenant-run series such as Mad Miles runs, Silent Book Club, Survey Says trivia and Knight Vision Chess Club. The winter season is the largest of these stretches, and it runs on a fixed schedule.
The Season Arrives in Stages
Each part of the season opens on its own date, so the site gets busier week by week:
- Friday, November 13. VTGCLT Pop opens with handmade and vintage goods from more than 90 local and regional creatives. Through December 8 it is open Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Saturday, November 21. The Camp North Pole ice rink opens at the Ford Factory, 400 Camp Road, and runs through January 10, 2027. Admission is $18, or $15 for ages 10 and under, and skate rental is included.
- Wednesday, November 25, through Friday, November 27. The rink switches to Thanksgiving Break hours, noon to 10 p.m. daily.
- Saturday, December 5. The Mistletoe Market opens inside the Ford Factory from 2 to 7 p.m., with 25 vendors curated by VTGCLT. The Hunnid Dollar Art Fair by BLK MRKT runs that evening from 6 to 9 p.m.
- Wednesday, December 9. VTGCLT Pop moves to daily hours, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., through December 23.
- Saturday, December 12. The busiest day of the season, covered below.
- Saturday, December 19. The last Mistletoe Market, 2 to 7 p.m. The next day the rink switches to Winter Break hours, which run through January 2.
The rink is in the same place it was last year. The 2025 season ran from November 20 to January 4, so this year it opens one day later and closes six days later, which makes the season five days longer and carries it into the second weekend of January.
Fridays stay steady throughout. Camp's Friday Night Music page lists Barfly Friday Night Karaoke every Friday from November 13 through December 25.
December 12, Hour by Hour
On December 12, every part of the season is running at the same time. Here is that afternoon, based on the hours Camp has posted:
| Time | What is running | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 10 a.m. | VTGCLT Pop opens on its daily schedule | Camp North End |
| 11 a.m. | Ice rink opens on Saturday hours | Ford Factory, 400 Camp Road |
| 2 p.m. | Mistletoe Market opens with 25 vendors | Ford Factory, 400 Camp Road |
| 3 p.m. | Hunnid Dollar Art Fair opens, every piece $100 or less | Camp North End |
| 4 p.m. | Reindog Parade, free for spectators | Keswick District |
| 7 p.m. | Market, art fair and VTGCLT Pop close | Camp North End |
| 10 p.m. | Ice rink closes | Ford Factory, 400 Camp Road |
From 4 to 7 p.m., everything on the site is open at once. The Reindog Parade, which Camp calls one of its cutest traditions, brings dog owners and their pups in holiday outfits to the Keswick District. At the Hunnid Dollar Art Fair, more than 50 local creatives sell work for $100 or less, and the artists keep all of their sales.
December 5 also stacks events, but differently. The market closes at 7 p.m. while the art fair runs from 6 to 9, so that evening shifts from shopping in the Ford Factory to browsing art in the evening. December 19 has the market, the daily pop-up and the rink, and it is the last Saturday before the rink switches to Winter Break hours.
Camp also promises holiday music, family entertainment and seasonal food and drink across the season. Each week, early arrivals can get limited-edition Camp North End mugs and tote bags.
Parking on a Market Saturday
Camp's own Mistletoe Market page says parking is "in exceptionally high demand" on market days. It strongly encourages carpooling, ride-share, walking, biking and public transit. Three lots are listed, and all are ADA accessible:
- 1776 Statesville Ave. Surface lot, free
- 1801 N. Graham St. Surface lot, free
- 120 Razades Way. Parking garage, free for the first two hours and $4 for each additional hour
The two-hour limit at the garage affects how a visit is planned. Two hours is enough for a market loop and a coffee. If you add a session on the rink, which opens at 11 a.m. on Saturdays, and the 4 p.m. parade, you will be there well past two hours. Weekday evenings are quieter. The rink opens at 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and stays open until 9, and after December 9, VTGCLT Pop is open daily until 7 p.m. That gives a short window to browse the pop-up and then skate without Saturday crowds.
The Tenants Who Have Been Here All Year
The holiday events are temporary, but Camp's year-round tenants are open throughout the season, and they shape a visit before and after the rink and the market.
Two newer businesses opened this year. Sage & Citrus, chef and founder Darius Johnson's fast-casual spot for bowls, sandwiches and smoothies, opened April 4 at 1801 N. Graham St., Suite 100, the same address as one of the free surface lots. Good Game, a board game, card game and trading card shop from Good Postage owner Jane Manfredi, held its grand opening on September 19 at 701 Keswick Ave., Suite 103. That is in the same Keswick District where the Reindog Parade gathers. Jamestown described the shop as built around regular gameplay events.
Mad Miles Run Club already hosts weekly runs at Camp. In May, QCity Metro reported that the club was also opening a 3,500-square-foot clubhouse at 400 Camp Road, Suite 103, which is in the same building as the rink.
Camp's Eat & Drink directory lists the places that fill in the rest of the day. Hex Coffee, Kitchen & Natural Wines and Canteen work before the pop-up opens. Gravity Sourdough Pizza Co., eggroll Co., La Caseta, Halal Street Food and Blasian Asian Way cover lunch between the rink and the market. Seemingly Overzealous Ice Cream, Life Is Sweet, Cara's Cookie Company and Oh My Ganache, The Cheesecake Bar handle dessert. For the evening there are Black Moth Bars, Free Range Bar, Room Service, Soul Miner's Garden and Tipsy Pickle, plus Barfly on karaoke Fridays.
This is the first full winter since Jamestown took over and since the Wednesday market ended. The Mistletoe Market is the same size as last year's, with 25 vendors inside the Ford Factory both years, and the rink is back in its usual spot at 400 Camp Road. The biggest change this year is outside the holiday events: from mid-November through the second weekend of January, the winter season is the main reason to visit Camp regularly.
When we work with buyers and sellers, we look at how places like Camp North End plan their year, because a neighborhood's weekly routine is part of what a home there offers. If you are thinking about a home within easy reach of the North End, or want to talk through how Charlotte's mixed-use districts are changing, Bryn Rose would be glad to help. Let's Connect.
