"We wanted it to be of the market with a mission," Larry Cline told WTVM in 2023, when he described starting the Midland Community Farmers Market in 2014. Here is the mission. Vendors pay a modest fee to reserve a space, and the money goes to local charities. In that same WTVM report, Cline said the fees add up "week after week after week."
That model matters most this time of year. Midland has two holiday markets on two Saturdays, two weeks apart. The first takes over the Midland Commons shopping district for an afternoon. The second is a church-field craft fair on Warm Springs Road, and every booth there is also a donation. If you plan to buy handmade gifts this season, both markets work. Knowing how the money moves at each one helps you decide where to spend which part of your list.
The Two Dates for Your Calendar
- Saturday, November 21, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: The Midland Commons and SFS Cozy Christmas Market, 6835 Midland Commons Blvd.
- Saturday, December 5, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.: The Midland Community Farmers Market Christmas Craft Fair at Midland Church, 9100 Warm Springs Road.
The two markets are 14 days apart, and they're built differently. The November market feeds shoppers into a retail district. The December fair channels vendor fees into charity.
November 21: A Market That Sends You to Lunch
Midland Commons is partnering with Street Food Saturdays, the group behind food-truck events around the area, on the Cozy Christmas Market. The event listing describes an outdoor market with more than 30 local makers, artisans and small businesses selling handmade gifts, holiday décor and boutique finds. It adds food trucks, festive drinks, seasonal treats and photos with Santa.
The listing also invites shoppers to "explore the wonderful local restaurants that call Midland Commons home." The market opens at 11 a.m., right before lunch, and runs four hours in the middle of a Saturday. That timing invites you to stay for a meal.
The district's own directory shows how many places are ready for that. Its restaurant listings include:
- Tommy G's
- Mabella Italian Steakhouse
- B. Merrell's
- First Watch
- Panera Bread
- Culver's
- Jersey Mike's Subs
- Tropical Smoothie Cafe
- Panda Express, Arby's and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
- Kilwins, Cinnaholic and Dunkin' for something sweet or a coffee
Publix is in the same development if you need to finish a grocery run while you're there. The directory lists Polanco under "Coming Soon."
The 2026 listing promises makers, food trucks and Santa. If last year's version is any guide, the day may have more than that. The Columbusite described the 2025 Cozy Christmas Market as having train rides, face painting, a Grinch visit and an animal-rescue adoption setup along with the vendors and Santa photos. Treat those as last year's extras. This year's listing commits to the market, the food and Santa.
As a starting point for holiday shopping, November 21 gives you variety, a district full of restaurants, and Santa photos for anyone in the household who still asks for them.
December 5: Where the Booth Fee Is the Donation
Two weeks later, the season moves up Warm Springs Road to the field at Midland Church, and the money moves differently too.
The Christmas Craft Fair is the farmers market's last special event of the year. Its regular Saturday season runs from the first Saturday in May through the end of October, so the craft fair is the market's only December date. The market adds two vendor areas for the fair, for 106 spaces in all. Every space is booked online in advance, with no drop-in spots. Reservations opened the evening of November 9.
The fair's booth fee is "somewhat higher" than the regular-season fee, "reflecting the longer selling hours and bigger crowds," and all of the vendor-fee proceeds from the event go to a local charity. So the day the market expects its biggest crowds is also the day it charges vendors the most, and that fee goes straight to charity.
The track record behind that is long. According to WTVM, the market is run by the Men's Club of the nearby Midland United Methodist Church. By July 2023, the club had raised more than $100,000 for local charities through vendor fees since 2014. That week alone, it gave $2,000 to House of Heroes. The $100,000 total came from 10 seasons of small weekly fees. The Christmas fair charges more per space and fills 106 of them.
Vendors talk about the giving too. Deena Johnston, owner of The Crochet Farm, had been with the market since its first season when she told WTVM in 2023 that "the most special thing about this market is the fact that our vendor fees go to support the local charities, the local ministries." In that same report, Cline listed what shoppers found on a regular Saturday: crafts, produce, pickles, jams, jellies and breads. The December lineup is a craft fair, so expect it to lean toward handmade gifts. The vendor list changes every year.
A jar of jam or a crocheted ornament bought on December 5 helps the maker who sold it. The space that maker paid for is already set aside for charity.
The Same Morning as the Columbus Christmas Parade
December 5 is also parade day. The Columbus Parks and Recreation calendar lists the Christmas Parade for Saturday, December 5, at 10 a.m. The craft fair runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., so the two overlap for most of the morning.
You don't have to choose between them. The fair runs five hours. You can go to the parade and come back to Warm Springs Road for the afternoon, or shop the fair when it opens and spend the rest of the day elsewhere. You'll have the most to choose from early, before the most popular handmade items sell. Coming later gets you a quieter field.
Planning Each Saturday
- November 21, Midland Commons. Arrive near the 11 a.m. opening if Santa photos are on your list, and plan lunch at one of the district's restaurants. The market closes at 3 p.m.
- December 5, Midland Church, 9100 Warm Springs Road. The fair opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 2 p.m. Its parking rules for vendors send them to designated vendor areas, keeping them out of the large lots beside the main field.
- Split your list. For gifts from a wide mix of local makers plus a sit-down lunch, November 21 is the better fit. If you'd rather your shopping day also send money to a local charity, the December 5 fair is set up for exactly that.
- Know what comes next. After December 5, the farmers market goes quiet until its regular season returns on the first Saturday in May.
Two Saturdays and two fields of tables offer two very different ways to spend the same gift budget. Whichever one makes your calendar, the vendors at both are your neighbors.
If you're new to Midland or hosting family here for the holidays, I'm happy to share more local favorites for this time of year. Tiffiney Graham has spent more than two decades on both sides of the Chattahoochee, and a good Saturday plan is always worth passing along. Let's Connect.
