Fishers' Free Holiday Season Fits Into One Friday and One Week in December

The City of Fishers runs its free holiday events in two short bursts this year. The first is a single Friday evening at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater on Nov. 27. The second is six nights in a row, Dec. 8 through Dec. 13, at Jingle Bell Junction. The ticketed venues around them stretch from the week before Thanksgiving to the week after Christmas. If you have those two short windows on your calendar, the rest of the season is easy to plan around.

Fishers has three holiday hubs this year, and each one works on different terms. Downtown, Fishers Parks runs free events on the Municipal Drive campus. The Fishers Event Center at 11000 Stockdale Street sells tickets to sports and concerts. Conner Prairie runs its own ticketed festival, A Merry Prairie Holiday, for most of December. All three run full programs on two nights, Nov. 27 and Dec. 12.

The season starts the week before Thanksgiving

The holidays start at the Event Center. The first Big Ten Women's Volleyball Tournament runs there Nov. 20–25, with the conference's top 15 teams and the championship on Thanksgiving Eve. The Fishers Event Center's tournament page lays out the format: three opening-round matches, four second-round matches, then the quarterfinals and semifinals, with an off day in between. For ticket and schedule updates, the page asks fans to sign up.

The championship lands on Wednesday, Nov. 25. That's also the first day of Santa's Mailbox, which runs through Dec. 11. Drop-off mailboxes are at City Hall at Fishers Municipal Center, 1 Municipal Drive, and at The 106 Plaza, 8100 E. 106th Street. Letters can also go by email to [email protected] until Dec. 11. Include a return address and a reply comes back. The 106th Street address is the same one the city called Fishers Parks HQ last year. Last year the mailbox opened Nov. 28 and closed Dec. 12, so this year it opens three days earlier and closes a day earlier.

Friday, Nov. 27 is the first night everything overlaps

The day after Thanksgiving, all three hubs open on the same evening. Here's how the night lines up:

1. 5 p.m. Night Lights, the City of Fishers tree lighting and kickoff, starts at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater, 6 Municipal Drive. The 2026 listing promises fire pits, igloo seating, live ice carving, reindeer and Fishers AgriPark animals, food trucks, and holiday light displays through downtown. It's free, and you don't need to register.
2. 5:30 p.m. A Merry Prairie Holiday opens its eighth year at Conner Prairie. Opening hours run 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
3. 6:30 p.m. Santa and Mayor Scott Fadness light the tree from the amphitheater stage. Fishers Parks says the lighting starts promptly.
4. 7 p.m. The downtown celebration ends.
5. 8 p.m. Triumph plays the Fishers Event Center on its Rock & Roll Machine Reloaded Tour.

You can do the tree lighting and Conner Prairie on the same night. Conner Prairie stays open until 9:30, so a family could watch the tree light up at 6:30 and still have a couple of hours on the prairie. The two-hour downtown event is the one with a fixed window.

The busy stretch keeps going through the weekend. On Saturday, Nov. 28, Conner Prairie is open again and The 90s R&B Experience with Joe plays the Event Center at 8 p.m. On Sunday, Nov. 29, the Indy Fuel hold their Teddy Bear Toss against Bloomington. For the puck-drop time, check the Indy Fuel's promotional schedule close to game day.

Jingle Bell Junction's six nights are the city's main holiday event

After the tree lighting, the city has no scheduled event nights until Dec. 8, though Santa's Mailbox stays open the whole time. On Dec. 8, Jingle Bell Junction runs a different themed event every night for six nights at 10 Municipal Drive. The city launched it last year as a new holiday destination at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater. The 2026 lineup:

The weeknights don't all work the same way. On Tuesday, Fishers Parks' Maker Playground staff walk makers of any age through basic woodshop techniques. On Wednesday, the city brings the supplies for homemade wrapping paper, gift bags and cards, with holiday karaoke going at the same time. Thursday is split by age. Kids' bingo runs 5 to 7 p.m., then Hambones Trivia hosts holiday movie trivia in two sessions, 7:30 to 8:30 and 9 to 10. Fishers Parks says it will let people in until the room fills.

Friday is the night most likely to draw adults on their own. Brandon Meeks leads a two-hour jazz improvisation session from 6 to 8 p.m. that's open to anyone who brings an instrument, and listeners are welcome too. The room then turns into a jazz lounge with a professional set from 8:30 to 10 p.m. and a full bar.

Sunday's Holiday Thrift-A-Thon is a winter version of the Thrift-A-Thon from the summer Fishers Farmers Market season. Local clothing makers, resellers and vintage collectors set up as vendors.

Saturday, Dec. 12 is the second night everything overlaps

Jingle Bell Junction's busiest day is also one of the busiest days of the season across Fishers. Cookies With Characters fills the morning. Registration is required for everyone who attends, adults included, and children 2 and under are free but still need to be registered. That evening, the Winter Market opens at 6 p.m., and Mixo Indy teaches mixology classes at 6 and 8 p.m. Vendor applications for the market closed Nov. 1, and the city planned to send approvals by Nov. 11.

Meanwhile, the Indy Fuel play Bloomington at 7 p.m. that night for Elf Night at the Event Center, with individual tickets starting at $24 on the Indy Fuel's Elf Night page. Conner Prairie is open that Saturday as well, since its December run covers every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from Dec. 4 through Dec. 20.

If you want a quieter Saturday in December, try Dec. 5 or Dec. 19. On Dec. 5, Conner Prairie is open and no city events are on the calendar. On Dec. 19, Conner Prairie is open and The Arrival is booked at the Event Center at 7 p.m. The Where's Waldo Family Fun Day is Sunday, Dec. 6, when the Fuel play Toledo.

Conner Prairie runs the longest, and parts of it have moved

Once Jingle Bell Junction ends on Dec. 13, Conner Prairie keeps the season going. After the weekend run, A Merry Prairie Holiday is open Dec. 21–23 and again Dec. 26–28. Tickets cost $15 for members and $26 for nonmembers.

If you went last year, a few things are in new places. Conner Prairie calls the Merry Marketplace brand-new. It's inside the Museum Experience Center, and Frosty's sock-skating rink is in there now too, which puts the rink indoors. Socks aren't provided, so bring a pair. The LED Reynolds lights have moved to The Junction, just past the covered bridge. The William Conner House returns with a 3D projection show of "'Twas The Night Before Christmas," and 1836 Prairietown hosts Historic Holidays with a magic lantern crankie show at the Potter Shop Kiln Shed.

Back at the Event Center, the Mudsock rivalry basketball games are Friday, Dec. 18. The girls play at 6 p.m. and the boys at about 8, and one ticket covers both games. The Fuel come back after Christmas for Impossible Pair Night on Saturday, Dec. 26, against Bloomington.

Before the busy weeks start

There's still time before Thanksgiving week. The Fishers Arts Council's Second Friday Gallery Hop is Friday, Nov. 13, from 5 to 9 p.m. at participating Nickel Plate District galleries, according to Current in Fishers. For a quick meal before Night Lights or a Fuel game, Flower Child is now open at 9344 Union Place Drive in The Union at Fishers District. Current reported its Oct. 27 opening ahead of time.

If you need a registration this season, these are the ones to plan for: Cookies With Characters and the Mixo Indy class on Dec. 12, and tickets for Conner Prairie, the Big Ten tournament, the Mudsock games and Fuel games. Everything else downtown is free, and you can just show up.

At Shelly Walters Realty Group, we keep this calendar close every December, from the tree lighting to Jingle Bell Junction. If you're hosting relatives this season and want ideas for fitting a Fishers holiday night into the visit, we're glad to share what we know. Let our family help your family. Contact us today.