Between now and the end of December, Downtown Duluth's Town Green has a short list of free city events: one Halloween night, three more farmers market Sundays and one holiday afternoon. Over the same stretch, the Gas South District on Sugarloaf Parkway has hockey, ballet, touring concerts, a convention-center festival and a gallery market. Most weekends have something going on there.
On a few dates the two calendars land on top of each other. Looking at both together tells you which weekends fill up and which nights call for a decision.
The Town Green's season is a handful of fixed dates
The City of Duluth's own calendar for the rest of 2026 is short. Each event on it is free.
- Duluth Farmers & Artisan Market, Sundays, October 18, November 1 and November 15, 2 to 5 p.m. The market runs on the first and third Sundays from March through May and again from September through November, so November 15 is the last market of the fall season.
- Howl on the Green, Friday, October 23, 6 to 9:30 p.m. This year's theme is "Mad Science: Project Zombie." The city describes the night as a free, family-friendly event with Trunk or Treat, a costume contest, a science show and a cirque finale at 9 p.m., according to the city's event page.
- Deck the Hall, Saturday, December 5, 2 to 7 p.m. The city lists live entertainment, kids' crafts, a snow playground and slide, Santa photos, a holiday market and holiday light installations. The page doesn't mention a tree-lighting ceremony or a lighting time for 2026. Check closer to the date before planning around one.
That leaves about ten weeks with five dated city events. The rest of the season's programming happens a few miles south, where the schedule is much busier.
Sugarloaf Parkway has something almost every weekend
The Gas South District events calendar for mid-October through December covers the arena, the theater, the convention center and the Hudgens Center for Art & Learning. Added to the Atlanta Gladiators' 2026–27 promotional schedule, it fills nearly every weekend through the holidays.
| Dates | Gas South District | Town Green |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 15–18 | ALABAMA with The Marshall Tucker Band (Oct 15), MercyMe (Oct 16), Gladiators Opening Night and Blizzard of Ozzy (Oct 17), Gladiators vs. Norfolk (Oct 18) | Farmers market (Oct 18) |
| Oct 23–25 | Dracula, Gwinnett Ballet Theatre | Howl on the Green (Oct 23) |
| Nov 1 | None listed | Farmers market |
| Nov 7–8 | Sugarland (Nov 7), The Grinch musical (Nov 8) | None |
| Nov 13–15 | Gladiators Lucky 13 and Military Night, North Atlanta Dance Theatre's Nutcracker, Hudgens Holiday Makers Market | Final farmers market (Nov 15) |
| Nov 20–22 | Glads Fight Cancer weekend, Georgia Festival of Trees opens (Nov 21) | None |
| Nov 27–29 | for KING + COUNTRY (Nov 27), Northeast Atlanta Ballet's Nutcracker, Gladiators Jersey Frenzy and Margaritaville, Festival of Trees through Nov 29 | None |
| Dec 5–6 | Gwinnett Ballet Theatre's Nutcracker opens (Dec 5) | Deck the Hall (Dec 5) |
| Dec 13–20 | Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Dec 13), ASO Holiday Showcase (Dec 16), Gladiators holiday weekend (Dec 18–20) | None |
The district's listing for Dad's Garage Live!, billed as "Gwinnett's Comedy at Gas South Theater," also starts October 17 and runs through April 10, 2027. The calendar tags it with a different venue than its description does, so confirm the location when you buy tickets.
Two of the city's events share a date with something on Sugarloaf: Howl on the Green and Deck the Hall. The two November market Sundays sit at opposite ends of that pattern. November 1 has nothing listed at the district, and November 15 falls in the busiest weekend of the season.
The nights that overlap
October 23: Howl on the Green and Dracula
On Friday, October 23, Howl on the Green runs downtown from 6 to 9:30 p.m. That same weekend, Gwinnett Ballet Theatre performs Dracula at Gas South Theater, October 23 through 25. Both are Halloween-season programs, and the ballet's Saturday and Sunday dates give families a way to do both without picking one Friday night. The Howl finale at 9 p.m. is the latest part of the downtown schedule.
The November 13–15 weekend
This is the fullest weekend on either calendar:
- Friday, November 13. The Gladiators play Trois-Rivières on Lucky 13 night at 7:10 p.m., and North Atlanta Dance Theatre's Nutcracker opens its November 13–15 run at Gas South Theater.
- Saturday, November 14. The Hudgens Holiday Makers Market runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It doubles as Family Day and includes a Chili Cook-Off & Bowl Fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to the Hudgens events page. Visitors can also preview the center's newest exhibition.
- Sunday, November 15. The Gladiators host Military Night at 3:10 p.m., and the Duluth Farmers & Artisan Market holds its last fall session on the Town Green from 2 to 5 p.m.
After November 15, the Town Green is quiet until December 5.
December 5: Deck the Hall and a Nutcracker opening
Deck the Hall fills downtown from 2 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, December 5. Gwinnett Ballet Theatre's Nutcracker opens at Gas South Theater the same day and runs through December 20. Because the run is long, opening day isn't the only chance to see it.
Three Nutcrackers, one theater
Gas South Theater hosts three different companies' productions of The Nutcracker this season:
- North Atlanta Dance Theatre, November 13–15
- Northeast Atlanta Ballet, November 27–29
- Gwinnett Ballet Theatre, December 5–20
The runs don't overlap, so the theater has a Nutcracker on stage across five weeks, from mid-November nearly to Christmas. If a holiday ballet is a family tradition, two November weekends come before the Gwinnett Ballet Theatre run takes over December. The calendar also has holiday shows that aren't ballet: The Grinch musical on November 8, for KING + COUNTRY's "A Drummer Boy Christmas" on November 27, Trans-Siberian Orchestra at 3 p.m. on December 13 and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's Holiday Showcase at 7:30 p.m. on December 16.
The Georgia Festival of Trees fills the Gas South Convention Center from November 21 through 29, covering both the Glads Fight Cancer weekend and the Thanksgiving weekend.
The hockey schedule picks up in December
The Gladiators open at home on Saturday, October 17, against Norfolk at 7:10 p.m., and play Norfolk again on Sunday, October 18. The team's schedule lists the Sunday game at 7:10 p.m., while the district calendar lists it at 3:00 p.m. and the opener at 7:00 p.m. The team also notes that all dates and times may change, so check before you head out that Sunday, especially if you're also planning on the farmers market.
After the opening weekend, the themed nights come more often as the holidays get closer:
- Glads Fight Cancer, November 20–22, presented by Beaver Toyota Mazda, with specialty jerseys all weekend
- Jersey Frenzy, November 28, and Margaritaville, November 29
- Education Day #1, Wednesday, December 2, at 10:30 a.m.
- Max's Holiday Party, December 18; Wizard Night with the Jambos Pajama Toss after the first goal, December 19; and Toy Story with themed specialty jerseys, December 20
- Frosty Boots & Country Roots, presented by 94.9 The Bull, December 26
The December 18–20 run fills the second weekend after the last Town Green event of the year. The Gladiators keep playing past it, with a December 26 game when most holiday programming has ended.
Why the Sugarloaf calendar will keep getting busier
Most of what's coming is still on the Sugarloaf side. On September 3, 2026, Gas South Arena broke ground on a renovation and campus investment of about $175 million. It includes a new 1,000-space parking deck, an expanded arena entrance, new premium seating and suites, larger high-definition displays and updated concessions. The district's announcement puts completion in early 2028.
Across Sugarloaf Parkway at 6405 Sugarloaf Parkway, the North Atlanta Star reported in September that the Food Truck Park at Le Maison is expected to open in late 2026. The paper described it as the first dedicated food-truck park in the Duluth area. The vendors, hours and opening date had not been announced. According to the same report, the site belongs to a larger hospitality plan at Maison 6405, where the Maison Event Center already hosts weddings and conferences. The Maison 6405 site still lists a JDV by Hyatt hotel, a Turkish Hammam Spa and restaurants, including a rooftop restaurant and bar, as "Coming Soon," with no dates.
For dinner near the district right now, the Westin Atlanta Gwinnett has SweetSong restaurant and bar and the Overstory Rooftop Bar on site.
Downtown has its own deadline before then. The Hudgens' juried exhibition, "Stand in Ansel Adams Footsteps," closes October 24, the day after Howl on the Green.
Whether you want to plan around the big December weekends or are wondering how this busy Sugarloaf calendar factors into what your home is worth, The Frye Team knows Duluth's seasons well. Get an Instant Home Valuation and start with a clear picture of where you stand.