In 2023, the Firefly Handmade Holiday Market on Old South Gaylord Street fell on December 9 and 10, which put it in the middle of the holiday season. This year it runs Saturday and Sunday, November 21 and 22, five days before Thanksgiving. With the market on that earlier weekend, a stretch of Gaylord with no cars for two full days now comes before Thanksgiving instead of after it.

Firefly Handmade lists the weekend at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, with free admission and more than 80 artists, makers and designers. Visit Denver carries the same 2026 dates and hours.

The Date Has Been Moving Earlier

Firefly has held its Gaylord market in late fall for years, but the weekend changes. Based on the event's own listings and earlier press coverage, here is where it has fallen:

The 2021 dates come from The Denver Post's holiday market roundup that year. The 2023 and 2024 dates are in the Old South Gaylord event archive. In 2023 the market fell in the stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas. In 2024 and 2026 it comes before both, so a Wash Park household can do much of its gift shopping a block or two from home before the holiday weekend.

The market also follows closely on the end of another neighborhood weekend routine. The South Pearl Street Farmers Market ran Sundays from May 3 through November 8 this year, on the 1400 and 1500 blocks of South Pearl. Firefly's Saturday opening on Gaylord comes 13 days after that last Sunday on Pearl.

One Block, Closed From Tennessee to Mississippi

The market takes over the 1000 block of South Gaylord Street, between Tennessee Avenue and Mississippi Avenue, and Firefly says the street is closed during the event. Firefly gives 1004 S. Gaylord St. as the address for navigation apps. That's also the address the Old South Gaylord business directory lists for Devil's Food Bakery, so a map pin will put you right at the bakery's door.

How to get there:

• Driving: Firefly suggests parking on neighboring streets and reading every parking sign, because these blocks are regularly monitored.
• Transit: The Old South Gaylord merchants list RTD bus routes 11 and 24 and the H Light Rail line as ways to reach the 1000 block.
• Evening plans: The same merchants note that parking on some nearby streets is restricted to residents on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. If a Saturday at the market turns into dinner on Gaylord, check the sign where you parked before the evening restrictions start.

For anyone living within a few blocks, the simplest plan is to walk over. With Gaylord closed, the market and the storefronts become one pedestrian block for the weekend.

Who Plays, and When

Firefly is booking Colorado musicians for the weekend.

1. Saturday, Nov. 21, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Rex Peoples
2. Saturday, Nov. 21, 1:30 to 4 p.m.: Strings & the Box
3. Sunday, Nov. 22, 1:30 to 4 p.m.: Matt Flaherty Band

Each day's music runs in two sets: a morning set ending at 12:30 and an afternoon set starting at 1:30. The hour between them is a natural time to step into a restaurant on the block.

The Bar Is Run for the Gaylord Merchants

Firefly says the food and drink will come from its food artisans and from the restaurants on the street, plus a South Gaylord Merchants Association Bar hosted by Salta Events, with drinks and treats. That bar is the main thing that ties the weekend to the street. The vendor booths come from Firefly's maker network, and the bar is set up under the name of the merchants who are on Gaylord the rest of the year.

The storefronts are part of the market too. In the 1000 block, the Old South Gaylord directory lists:

• Devil's Food Bakery at 1004 S. Gaylord St.
• Broomtail Kids at 1014 S. Gaylord St.
• The Paper Lady at 1018 S. Gaylord St.

At the Mississippi end of the closure is Wash Park Social at 1096 S. Gaylord St. Westword reported it as an April 2026 opening, in the corner space that was once Wash Park Grill. That means this year's market runs between a bakery at one end and a newer restaurant at the other, with a children's shop and a paper and gift shop in between. Firefly's own feature list ends with "all the local love at nearby shops, restaurants, and bars," which makes clear the event is built to send shoppers into the permanent businesses as well as the tents.

What Firefly's Makers Produce

Firefly works with a broad artisan collective, and its market page directs visitors there to browse. The collective shows the range of goods Firefly markets are known for:

• Lindfors Sisters Cashmere Creations turns cashmere into blankets, scarves and mittens.
• Ink & Mud is a ceramics studio that also sells watercolor art.
• Anna Pausch Studio makes woodblock prints on paper and cloth.
• Hahn Jewelry works in sterling silver and 14-karat gold-dipped brass wire.
• Yummy Lotus makes small-batch pepper jam.
• Downslope Distilling is a small-batch craft spirits maker.
• Buena Goods makes everyday products from breathable industrial mesh.
• Mallory Cash Art paints outdoor landscapes in an Impressionist style.
• Haplos makes artisan bath and body products.

The list mixes things to give away with things to serve. Pepper jam and a bottle from a Colorado distillery are practical buys the weekend before Thanksgiving, when a hostess gift is often the first gift on the list.

Dogs, Strollers and Questions

Firefly calls its Denver markets family-friendly and "pup-friendly," and says it likes "being joined by two-legged AND four-legged friends." For accessibility questions or needs, Firefly asks visitors to email [email protected].

If you'd like to help run the market, Firefly takes volunteer registrations through its market page and gives each volunteer a Firefly Handmade gift card. Applications for artisans are closed for this year, and Firefly is pointing makers to its 2027 market.

Two Days, Planned From the Neighborhood

The best plan depends on which part of the weekend you want:

• Saturday morning has Rex Peoples playing and the full day of shopping still ahead.
• Saturday afternoon brings Strings & the Box, from 1:30 to 4 p.m.
• Sunday afternoon ends the weekend with the Matt Flaherty Band, from 1:30 p.m. until the 4 p.m. close.

On either day, Firefly's navigation address is the place to start: 1004 S. Gaylord St., the same address the merchants list for Devil's Food Bakery.

The Gaylord market is the kind of neighborhood detail we keep track of as part of following Wash Park closely. If you have friends or family thinking about the blocks around Old South Gaylord, Rule Properties can show them what this neighborhood looks like on a weekend like this one. Connect with Ben & Erin for a tailored market valuation.