The Cooperage Project in Honesdale has ended its Holiday Artisans Market after 14 years. The organization said attendance had been falling for several years, and it tied that drop to "the many new and wonderful markets that have emerged in our region during the holiday season." Nobody has replaced the one big December stop in a Honesdale building. The season now runs from early November into mid-December, and for Hemlock Farms its busiest day happens inside the gate.
That changes how you plan. Last year you might have saved one Saturday for a single market. This year the handmade-gift season has a clear order, and the Steer Barn Clubhouse sits at the center of it.
Why the Honesdale market stepped back
The Cooperage didn't blame its vendors or its shoppers. In its Oct. 20 update, the organization said it weighed the market's shrinking crowds against "the considerable time, coordination, and effort required of both our organization and participating vendors."
The same post thanks the makers who sold there in recent years. The list reads like a local gift guide: Lakehouse Pottery, Pine Eddy Porcelain Pottery, Streamside Maple, Crow Creek Soap Co., Wanderlost Metalworks, Rose Mae Candles, Batches Cookie Co., and a vendor many neighbors will recognize by name, Sweets of Hemlock. Those makers didn't stop making. The market they gathered at did.
The Cooperage ended the announcement by pointing shoppers to other markets nearby. That list, the Hemlock Farms Community Association's own event page, and the Downtown Hawley Partnership's Winterfest schedule together make up the 2026 calendar below.
Saturday, Nov. 7: a deadline and two openings
This post goes up on Thursday, Nov. 5. Two days later, the season's first deadline arrives.
The Hemlock Farms Holiday Craft Fair & Bake Sale has a vendor registration deadline of 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. If you make jam, jewelry, skincare or artwork and have thought about selling to your neighbors, this is the weekend to sign up. The event page lists "jams, sauces, jewelry, skincare, artwork, & more" as the kind of goods the fair expects.
Two winter markets open the same day:
- Main Street Farmers Market, Honesdale. The Cooperage still runs its farmers market. The winter season starts Nov. 7, 2026 and runs every Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., through Apr. 24, 2027, at 1030 Main Street. The Cooperage stepped back from one December event, but its Saturday market keeps going all winter.
- Newfoundland Winter Farmers & Artisan Market. It meets at the Newfoundland Area Public Library, 954 Main St., on the first Saturday of each month from November through April. That puts the opening day on Nov. 7. The Cooperage lists the winter hours as 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 28: three markets at once, one inside the gate
The Saturday after Thanksgiving is the busiest day of the season, and it starts closest to home.
The Hemlock Farms Holiday Craft Fair & Bake Sale runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Steer Barn Clubhouse, 101 Basswood Dr. Admission is free. The bake sale benefits the Hemlock Farms Library, and the café will be open. When you buy cookies at the Steer Barn, the money goes to a library you can walk to.
Two other markets fall on the same day, so the timing matters if you want to get to more than one:
| Market | Start time | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Holiday Craft Fair | 9 a.m. | Beach Lake Fire Company, 1033 Beach Lake Hwy., Beach Lake |
| Hemlock Farms Holiday Craft Fair & Bake Sale | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Steer Barn Clubhouse, 101 Basswood Dr. |
| Small Business Saturday Vendor Market | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Delaware Valley Middle School, 258 Route 6 & 209, Milford |
The Pike County Chamber of Commerce hosts the Milford market, and The River Reporter listed it at the Delaware Valley Middle School site. The Beach Lake fair opens an hour before the other two, so you can start early in Wayne County and finish at home in the afternoon.
The same day, Milford adds a show. Irving Berlin's White Christmas opens Nov. 28 at The Milford Theater, 114 East Catharine St., and plays weekends through Dec. 20. Show times vary by day.
On Sunday, Nov. 29, the Vendor Market + Open House at Bricks + View Venue runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 525 Church St. in Honesdale. The venue used to be called 6th + River.
Dec. 5 and 6: Milford on one side, Wayne County on the other
The first weekend of December splits between Pike and Wayne counties, so you'll be picking a direction.
On Saturday, Dec. 5, Milford's annual tree lighting runs from 1:45 to 6:30 p.m. at the Milford Community House, 201 Broad St. The Pike County Chamber hosts it, with caroling, live music, a children's choir, and visits from Santa and the Grinch. While you're at the Community House, the county's "Nature Rings in Pike County" bell installation is on display there through Dec. 31.
The same Saturday, the Ladore Salvation Army Holiday Craft Fair runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Ladore Lodge & PARC Pavilion in Waymart. Newfoundland's market also meets that day, since Dec. 5 is the first Saturday of the month.
On Sunday, Dec. 6, the Wayne County YMCA Holiday Craft Fair & Artisan Bazaar runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 105 Park Street in Honesdale.
Grey Towers in Milford has A Christmas Carol performances in its Great Hall on Dec. 4, 5 and 6. All three show as sold out on the Grey Towers event page.
Dec. 11 to 13: Hawley tries something new
The season ends in Hawley, with a change from past years.
Hawley Winterfest runs Dec. 11–13, 2026. Friday is for community events, and the craft and artisan market runs Saturday and Sunday. The Cooperage places the market in downtown Hawley, centered around 519 Church St.
The new part is Friday night. The Downtown Hawley Partnership calls this year's Victorian Christmas Parade its "first ever Lighted Night Parade." It's set for Friday, Dec. 11, 2026, with lineup at 5 p.m. near the Lutheran and Methodist churches and a 6 p.m. start in downtown Hawley. Some regional calendars still show a different time. DiscoverNEPA's listing, for example, says Saturday, Dec. 12 at 11 a.m. The organizer's official Winterfest page lists Friday evening, and the Partnership points people to its Facebook page for updates. Downtown has metered parking.
Groups and businesses can still sign up to march. Fill out the parade registration form on the Winterfest page and email it to [email protected].
The season, start to finish
Here is the full sequence, so you can mark your calendar once:
- Sat., Nov. 7: Hemlock Farms vendor registration closes at 4 p.m. The Main Street Farmers Market and the Newfoundland Winter Farmers & Artisan Market both open.
- Sat., Nov. 28: Hemlock Farms Holiday Craft Fair & Bake Sale at the Steer Barn, the Small Business Saturday Vendor Market in Milford, and the Beach Lake craft fair. White Christmas opens at The Milford Theater.
- Sun., Nov. 29: Bricks + View Venue market in Honesdale.
- Sat., Dec. 5: Milford tree lighting, the Ladore craft fair in Waymart, and Newfoundland's December market.
- Sun., Dec. 6: Wayne County YMCA bazaar in Honesdale.
- Fri., Dec. 11: Hawley's first lighted night parade at 6 p.m.
- Sat.–Sun., Dec. 12–13: Winterfest craft and artisan market in downtown Hawley.
Of these dates, only the Steer Barn fair needs no drive past the gate. It sends its bake sale money to the Hemlock Farms Library and runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
If you're hosting family over Thanksgiving weekend and want ideas for filling a Saturday near Hemlock Farms, or you'd like to talk about life in the community over coffee at the Steer Barn café, Steve Smaracko and our team are glad to help. Give our office a call. We'll walk you through it.
