ChristmasVille's grown-up nights have moved closer together. The Hopps & Stops brewery trolley ride used to be scheduled for the weekend after the festival. In 2025, the Jingle Shells oyster roast was on Sunday afternoon, and North Pole Nights, the 21+ event, had Saturday evening mostly to itself. For 2026, all three are part of a single Saturday evening, December 5, in Old Town Rock Hill.
The festival runs Thursday, December 3, through Sunday, December 6. Most of the four days are still about Santa, carriage rides and the gingerbread contest. After dark, though, the schedule has changed, and Saturday now plays out in a set order.
Where the Saturday pieces used to sit
| Event | Before 2026 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Hopps & Stops trolley crawl | Its own night the following weekend: held Dec. 14, 2024; scheduled for Dec. 13, 2025 | Merged into North Pole Nights |
| North Pole Nights, 21+ | Saturday, 6:30 to 10 p.m. in 2025 | Saturday, Dec. 5, 5 to 9 p.m. |
| Jingle Shells Oyster Roast | Sunday, 1 to 3 p.m. in 2025 | Saturday, Dec. 5, 5 to 7 p.m. |
Hopps & Stops was a 21+ brewery crawl on the Yoco Loco Trolley, and it started at Hoppin'. The 2024 route stopped at Green Space, Hoppin', Slow Play, Tattooed Brews, The Journeyman, Middle James, Main St Bottle and Rock Hill Brewing. Because it was scheduled a week after ChristmasVille, a Saturday at North Pole Nights and a trolley night were two separate trips downtown.
How the merged ticket works
ChristmasVille says it has "combined the high energy, multi stop fun of Hopps & Stops with the award winning, adult centric charm North Pole Nights is known for." The result runs as one crawl through Old Town, with a holiday transit loop carrying people between participating businesses all evening. The "award winning" part refers to North Pole Nights '25. On its festival awards page, ChristmasVille lists that event as NC Festivals & Events' winner for Best Event Associated with an Event.
The price stayed the same, and the ticket gives you more choice. In 2025, Hopps & Stops cost $60 for one ticket or $100 for two. That bought three drink vouchers and one food ticket. Here is how the 2026 North Pole Nights ticket works:
- A $60 ticket comes with four vouchers, and you can use them at any participating Stop.
- Each Stop offers something in one of three categories. "Sip" covers seasonal craft brews plus holiday cocktails and mocktails. "Savor" covers festive bites and small plates. "Create & Explore" covers paint and sips, cigar rolling demos and holiday shopping.
- Some activities are priced in tokens, from free up to $20 each, and discount bundles are available.
- The transit loop runs between businesses for the whole evening, and the event page reminds guests to bring cash for bartender tips.
The format is new, too. In 2025, North Pole Nights had a cooking demonstration, wine sampling, games, speed dating, line dancing and cigar rolling. Some activities were free, and the rest used tokens bought on site, according to The Herald's 2025 festival preview. In 2026, the evening is built around Old Town's businesses instead of a single set of activities. It also starts 90 minutes earlier, at 5 p.m., and ends at 9. Tickets are sold through Eventeny, and the festival describes them as limited.
The oyster roast is now the start of the evening
The 5 p.m. start matters because of the Jingle Shells Oyster Roast. It moved from a Sunday lunchtime slot to Saturday at 5 p.m., the same time North Pole Nights begins. The roast runs until 7 p.m. on the McFadden's Men Shop patio at 140 E. Main St., Suite 210. It features fresh roasted oysters, chilled drinks and live music. Tickets are $75, and space is limited.
The festival's own Jingle Shells page lays out the plan: "grab your ticket, savor the season with a shuckin' good time, and then head over to North Pole Nights to keep the evening going!" Since the two events overlap, people who hold both tickets can finish oysters on the patio around 7 and still have two hours to use all four vouchers. McFadden's sponsors the roast, so it's a clothing shop's patio that starts the evening.
On the old calendar, doing all three meant two separate weekends plus a Sunday afternoon. This year it takes one Saturday evening.
Thursday already worked this way
The new Saturday follows a pattern Thursday, December 3, already used: several evening events that overlap and run back to back on a few blocks of Main Street.
- 5 to 8 p.m.: The ChristmasVille Classic is back. It's a glow-in-the-dark disc golf tournament with 18 holes through the streets of Old Town. Players pay $25, discs are a $15 add-on, and one child under 10 plays free with each paying adult. Spectators are welcome.
- 6 to 6:45 p.m.: The free Opening Ceremony and Santa's Arrival takes place at Fountain Park, 300 E. Main St. The Rock Hill Rockhettes and Showtime Theatre perform, and the Knowledge Perk coffee bus will be there.
- 7 to 11 p.m.: 20th & Main returns "back by popular demand." It's centered at The Gathering Space, 135 E. Main St., with Elsie's and Kounter also hosting, and the food comes from Chef Rob Masone. A $250 VIP ticket gets you in at 6 p.m.
The disc golf and the opening ceremony overlap. That means a family can watch Santa arrive at Fountain Park while the glowing baskets are still out on the course. Then, when the ceremony ends, the 20th & Main crowd heads into The Gathering Space. 20th & Main began in 2025 as a formal-wear celebration of the festival's 20th anniversary, with tickets starting at $175, according to The Herald. Its return means an event planned for one anniversary is now a regular part of Thursday night.
Friday and the week before
Friday, December 4, belongs to the city. The Rock Hill Christmas Parade steps off at 6:30 p.m. It's run by the City of Rock Hill's Parks, Recreation and Tourism department, with Atlas Copco, Comporium, CWI Services and York County Natural Gas as sponsors. The city says the parade lineup is full for 2026. Visit York County says the route begins near Oakland Avenue and Stewart Avenue.
Taste of ChristmasVille is the one evening program that starts before the festival. It runs from Sunday, November 29, through Sunday, December 6. Participating Old Town restaurants serve themed food and drinks, and the passport details are on the Taste of ChristmasVille page. The menus start four days before the festival opens and run through its final night.
Crowds have been large in recent years. ChristmasVille chairperson Maddie Ewing told The Herald that the 2024 festival drew about 70,000 people. "It takes a village and Rock Hill shows up year after year," she said in the 2025 preview. With Hopps & Stops now part of festival Saturday, the trolley crawl's riders will be downtown during ChristmasVille instead of the following weekend. For anyone planning Saturday, December 5, the timing is simple: oysters on the McFadden's patio at 5, vouchers on the transit loop until 9, and Taste of ChristmasVille menus open until 11.
At Jeremy Ordan, we follow Old Town Rock Hill's calendar the way our neighbors do, from the first Taste of ChristmasVille passport to the last token of North Pole Nights. If you're hosting family this December and want an Old Town evening planned around these dates, let's talk.
