At 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 5, the Powhatan Christmas Parade starts on Old Buckingham Road at that hour. Fine Creek Brewing's Somewhereness Festival will already have been pouring for three hours, and it keeps going until 4:00.
Powhatan's 2026 holiday calendar is short, and most of it falls in the eight days from that Saturday through the next one. Two November Saturdays come first. The parade and the festival share December 5. Quarterfield Markets then runs its Christkindl week, with four evenings from Tuesday through Friday and a closing Saturday morning. Only a few events ask for anything in advance, and they all fall inside that eight-day stretch, so the reservations need to be made in November.
The Season on One Page
All of the following come from the 2026 listings on Visit Powhatan's event calendar.
| Date | Event | Where | Hours | Plan ahead? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Second Saturday Festival | Quarterfield Markets, 3209 Buckingham Rd | 9 a.m.–2 p.m. | No |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Craft & Create Christmas Show | Pocahontas Landmark Center, 4290 Anderson Hwy | 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | No, admission is free |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | 4th Annual Somewhereness Festival | Fine Creek Brewing, 2425 Robert E. Lee Rd | 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | Tokens can be bought in advance |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Powhatan Christmas Parade | Powhatan Village Courthouse, 3880 Old Buckingham Rd | 2 p.m. | Only if you're marching or selling |
| Tue.–Fri., Dec. 8–11 | Quarterfield Markets Christkindl Markets | 3209 Buckingham Rd | 4–7 p.m. | No |
| Tue.–Wed., Dec. 8–9 | A Country Polar Express | Quarterfield Markets | Evenings, from 4:30 p.m. | Yes, reservations required |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Christkindl Markets, closing day | 3209 Buckingham Rd | 9 a.m.–2 p.m. | No |
Only two addresses come up more than once. Quarterfield Markets on Buckingham Road hosts the November opener and all of the second week of December. Pocahontas Landmark Center on Anderson Highway hosts the craft show and, later in December, the county's Holiday Market.
November Is the Warm-Up
Quarterfield Markets holds its Second Saturday Festival on November 14, two days after this post goes up. It runs 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with local vendors, pop-ups, food trucks and kids' activities at 3209 Buckingham Road. The Christkindl week happens at the same address a month later, so the November Saturday is an easy chance to learn the layout and parking in daylight.
A week later, the Craft & Create Christmas Show takes over Pocahontas Landmark Center on Saturday, November 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free, and the organizers bill it as a head start on Christmas shopping, with handmade goods, treats and local makers. The listing says more vendor details are still to come, so the event page is the place to check before you go.
Neither November Saturday needs a reservation, which makes either one a good time to sort out the December events that do.
December 5 Splits the County's Afternoon
The first Saturday in December is the only day in the season with two major events running at the same time.
Fine Creek Brewing's 4th Annual Somewhereness Festival runs 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 2425 Robert E. Lee Road. The brewery chose the name because "somewhereness" describes "the state or quality of being in and belonging to a specific place." Every beer, cider and wine poured is made mostly from Virginia-grown ingredients. Tokens cost $4. One token buys a half pour and two buy a full pour, though pour sizes vary by product. Tokens can be bought in advance through Fine Creek's online ordering page.
The lineup of participating makers:
- Breweries: Selvedge Brewing, Big Ugly Brewing, Väsen Brewing
- Wineries: Blenheim Vineyards, Gabrielle Rausse Winery, Present Company Wine
- Cideries: Blue Bee Cider, Troddenvale Cider
- Food and extras: oysters from Seaside Oyster Company, live music by Willie D.E., florals by M Henry Design
The 2026 Powhatan County Christmas Parade starts at 2:00 p.m. that same afternoon. The route runs along Old Buckingham Road from Mann Road to the Courthouse area. Vendors set up on the Courthouse lawn, and Santa will be there for wishes and photos. Lineup and vendor setup begin at noon. Anyone entering a float or booking a vendor spot has to register through the Powhatan Christmas Parade 2026 site. Entries must be decorated in a winter or Christmas theme, and organizers note that Santa is already booked.
Put on one clock, the day looks like this:
- 11:00 a.m. Somewhereness opens at Fine Creek Brewing.
- 12:00 p.m. Parade lineup and Courthouse-lawn vendor setup begin on Old Buckingham Road.
- 2:00 p.m. The parade steps off from Mann Road toward the Courthouse.
- 4:00 p.m. Somewhereness closes.
The overlap only matters for the two hours after 2:00. You can taste through Fine Creek's lineup before lunch and still be on Old Buckingham Road for the start of the parade, or you can go to the parade first and get to the brewery for its last pours. Tokens bought in advance save time at the brewery either way.
Rise & Grind Cafe is at 3879 Old Buckingham Road, one house number from the Courthouse at 3880. Cameo Cakery owner Christina Miller took over the cafe on May 1, as Richmond BizSense reported in April. This is the first Christmas parade to pass the cafe since the change.
Then Four Evenings and a Saturday at Quarterfield
Three days after the parade, the season moves to weeknights at Quarterfield Markets. The Christkindl Markets follow the German market tradition, with extended shopping from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 8, through Friday, December 11. The week closes with a daytime session from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 12. Outdoor pop-ups, food trucks and beverage carts fill the grounds, and each evening includes kids' activities, product sampling and a live nativity. The markets are entirely outdoors and run after dark in December, so plan for the cold.
A Country Polar Express runs on the first two nights, Tuesday, December 8, and Wednesday, December 9. It is the one event this season that requires a ticket for every person. Based on Chris Van Allsburg's book, which the organizers call a "Caldecott classic," each session lasts about 70 minutes. It includes a reading of the story and a hayride to "Santa's workshop," which is the market itself, for a visit with Santa and time to shop. Every rider gets a cookie, hot cocoa and a sleigh bell ornament.
Tickets cost $25 per person. Children under 2 cost $10 with a paying adult and ride on that adult's lap. Reservations are made in advance through the Country Polar Express reservation form. The organizers suggest bringing flashlights because "it's DARK!" Pajamas and festive outfits are welcome, worn under warm layers for the hayride. A family of four with no children under 2 pays $100, so check the schedule before booking.
Vendor registration for the 2026 Christkindl Markets is also open, for makers who would rather sell than shop.
The Holiday Market Brings It Back Indoors
Powhatan Village's Farmer's Market hosts its 4th Annual Holiday Market at the Parks and Recreation gymnasium in Pocahontas Landmark Center, 4290 Anderson Highway. It is indoors and goes ahead rain or shine. The listing promises food trucks including Brekkie Waffles and River City Wood Fire Pizza, live music by Simply Us, and more than 30 local vendors selling artisan crafts, baked goods, candies and meats. County departments also enter a gingerbread house decorating competition that the public votes on, and there's a Kid Zone with crafts. The Holiday Market page at Visit Powhatan lists it for Saturday, December 19, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The Powhatan County events calendar lists it for Friday, December 11, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., which falls during the Christkindl week. Check both before you plan around it.
The Holiday Market and the November craft show are both held at the Landmark Center, so Anderson Highway hosts the season's indoor shopping and Quarterfield on Buckingham Road hosts the outdoor markets.
The Short List to Handle This Month
Most of the season needs nothing more than showing up. These four items need to be done ahead of time:
- Country Polar Express seats for December 8 or 9, reserved through the reservation form
- Somewhereness tokens, optional but available early through Fine Creek Brewing's ordering page
- Parade entries and Courthouse-lawn vendor spots, through the parade registration site, where organizers warn that spots are limited
- Christkindl vendor booths, through the Quarterfield vendor form
With those done, the free and walk-in events can fill the rest of the season: the Second Saturday Festival on November 14, the craft show on November 21, the Courthouse lawn on December 5 and the Christkindl evenings the following week.
If the holidays have you thinking about what your home could do next year, River City Elite Properties would be glad to sit down with you after the parade. Schedule Your Listening Appointment.
