The Arnold Farmers Market Just Closed for the Season. Its Grounds Are About to Get Busier.

What happens to a market field built for 80 vendors once the vendors go home? In Arnold, the field gets its biggest crowds of the year.

The Arnold Farmers Market's 15th regular season ended on Saturday, October 31. The market ran Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. to noon starting May 2, near the entrance of Arnold City Park off Jeffco Boulevard by the Meramec River. Between now and mid-December, the park around that field hosts a Thanksgiving morning race, Christmas in the Park and a Christmas Market. The holiday event drew about 3,500 people in its first year and has outgrown the market area since. This year's market upgrades were planned around Saturday produce. Their first real winter test comes in December.

What the city added to the grounds this year

The market grew a lot in 2026. The Leader reported that Arnold added 40 vendor spaces, built a pavilion in the middle of them and opened a new parking lot just north of the market. A permanent restroom building went in the year before. A typical Saturday brought about 80 vendors.

The parking lot is the change you'll feel most on a crowded night. It opened July 11, adds about 120 spaces and cost the city about $25,000, according to Parks and Recreation director Dave Crutchley. To reach it, turn left on Hollywood Beach Road after you enter the park. A walking path connects it to the market.

Deputy director Ajsa Roach told the Leader why the city kept investing:

"I think we have done a good job with adding parking, additional stalls, the pavilion and the bathrooms. We have added so many things, and we want to make sure the community can use it."

The city also tried a weekday evening market this year. Farm Fresh at Sunset ran from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on August 19, September 16 and October 21, and Roach said the city would "reevaluate" after those three dates. She also said there are no plans for winter evening markets. Weekday shopping is finished for the year. The weekend events at this end of the park are just starting.

The holiday event that outgrew the market first

Christmas in the Park is only a few years old, and it has already been resized once. Arnold held the first one in 2023, and city staff counted about 3,500 people. The next year, Crutchley told the Leader that the opening year "did get crowded in the Farmers Market area." So the 2024 edition spread onto more of the market grounds, into the space near the Christmas tree and behind the pavilion and vendor stalls.

The tree grew too. In 2023 it stood 40 feet tall. For 2024, staff planned a 60-foot tree made of lights running down a pole in the field to the left of the market. Crutchley joked, "I want it to be seen from I-55."

The 2026 date is set for Saturday, December 5, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Arnold City Park. The city's event page still says "More details coming soon!" and is taking applications from food trucks and craft vendors. The 2024 event was free. The city hasn't posted this year's activities yet, so check that page before you go.

If the event uses the market grounds again, it will be the first Christmas in the Park with the new pavilion standing among the expanded stalls and the Hollywood Beach Road lot open.

Thanksgiving morning starts beside the river

The season's first big gathering at the park comes nine days before the tree lighting. The Gobble Gobble 5K, which the City of Arnold hosts with Arsenal Credit Union, starts at 8 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, at Arnold City Park. The course runs along the Meramec River. Strollers are welcome. Dogs are not.

The race has deep roots. The Leader called the 2024 run the 17th annual, and the city still calls it an annual event. Here's what you need to know for this year:

• Price: The city's listing puts registration at $35 from November 1 through 25, up from $30 in late October. Swag is subject to availability.
• Swag: The Race Roster page shows a 2026 race shirt and a beanie.
• Packet pickup: At the Arnold Recreation Center, Tuesday, November 24, from 3 to 7 p.m., and Wednesday, November 25, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Race morning: Parking and packet pickup open at 7 a.m. The start line is open from 8 to 8:10 a.m.
• Kids: A free half-mile kids' run starts at 9 a.m. Kids still need to register.
• Canned food: Runners are asked to bring a canned item for the city's Feed the Masses campaign. Donations go to the Arnold Food Pantry.

Six months of dates at one end of the park

The market season is over, but this corner of the park stays busy into spring. The calendar below lists the dates the city and the Leader have published, plus two events this week elsewhere in town.

The Veterans Day Parade is tomorrow, so it's the closest date on the list. The two Recreation Center story times require registration. They're free for members and $6 for nonmembers.

The market comes back in smaller doses

The Christmas Market is the oldest winter event on the grounds. The Leader covered Arnold's first Christmas market, which drew thousands, before Christmas in the Park existed. This year it falls one week after the tree lighting, on Saturday, December 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In 2024 it ran until 3 p.m., so this year's market closes an hour earlier.

After that, the market switches to a monthly schedule. The three Winter Markets run from 9 to 11:30 a.m. on February 13, March 13 and April 10. That's two and a half hours, compared with the four-hour Saturday markets from May through October. Roach told the Leader that "in the winter, we do have to cancel markets sometimes in January and February because of the weather." If the morning looks icy, check the market's Facebook page or the city's market page before you drive over.

Vendor fees show how much the city leans on the regular season. A stall costs $25 per Saturday, or $300 for the full season, and the evening markets charged $10. The winter dates are short and few. The regular season pays for the stalls, pavilion and parking, and the winter events get to use them.

Getting there on the busy nights

Arnold City Park sits off Jeffco Boulevard near the Meramec River. For the Christmas Market and the Winter Markets, the Hollywood Beach Road lot north of the market is the city's own recommendation. "We encourage people to use that lot," Roach told the Leader. For Christmas in the Park, the city hasn't posted parking details yet. That event starts at 4 p.m. on a December Saturday, so plan for a walk back to the car after dark.

For Gobble Gobble runners, picking up your packet at the Recreation Center on Tuesday or Wednesday keeps you out of the 7 a.m. pickup line on Thanksgiving. Bring your canned item then, and on race morning all you need to do is park, line up between 8 and 8:10 and run along the Meramec.

If you're out at the tree lighting or the Christmas Market this year, come say hi. These are some of my favorite Arnold traditions, and I'm always happy to talk about life on this end of Jefferson County with anyone thinking about the year ahead. Let's connect with Stacy Deutschmann. Find your next home or get a free valuation.