Rolla's Lichternacht Runs on Volunteers, Small Sponsors and a November 10 Deadline

Heinzel the Elf was made for the 11th annual Christkindl Markt in 2023. That winter, someone broke into the Rolla Area Sister Cities Association's storage unit, and Heinzel was among the things taken. According to Phelps County Focus, the losses ran past $5,000. They included lighting, emergency light fixtures, extension cords, handmade tables and benches, and the curtains for the market's façade, which were sewn from cloth brought over from Germany.

The market went on anyway, and it returns this year for the 14th time. Visit Rolla says Lichternacht, the Christkindl Markt and the Rolla Christmas Parade together draw more than 4,000 people downtown. Behind them is what the Focus called "a small group of community volunteers," plus a list of local sponsors whose gifts are often in the hundreds of dollars, not the thousands. The weekend is Dec. 4 and 5 in 2026. How big it feels depends on how many downtown businesses and neighbors sign up by Nov. 10.

A German market with a planning-commission origin story

Rolla's Christkindl Markt honors its Sister City, Sondershausen, Germany. The Rolla Area Sister Cities Association, known as RASCA, works with the City of Rolla to support that relationship.

The tie began with regional planning. In a 2019 Phelps County Focus profile of the sister city, Richard Cavender, former executive director of the Meramec Regional Planning Commission, described the start. After the Berlin Wall fell, the German Marshall Fund looked for rural U.S. regions to partner with areas of the former East Germany. MRPC was one of about 20 planning commissions selected. Cavender said mining was the common ground: lead around Rolla and potash in the Kyffhäuserkreis district. A German delegation toured local lead mines and met with university mining staff.

The relationship is still active. In August 2023, Sondershausen Mayor Steffen Grimm visited Rolla with Michaela Otte for a community tour and a luncheon with Sister City Committee members and local officials, the Focus reported. The holiday weekend is the public face of that partnership, and the people who keep it going are the same small volunteer crew.

Friday night is built to be walked

Lichternacht, "Light the Night on Pine," runs Friday, Dec. 4, starting at 5:30 p.m. downtown. Its design explains why business sign-ups matter so much. Each participating business stays open from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and is paired with an entertainer. The entertainer repeats a short performance as visitors move from one storefront to the next. Organizers list musicians, actors and storytellers among the acts. One example from the support list: Metz Music is providing a keyboard for piano students at Phelps County Bank. Each business that joins adds one more stop to the route.

Kids get a reason to visit every stop:

1. Each child receives a Tannenbaum Card carrying the logos of participating businesses.
2. Each stop earns a punch.
3. Five punches earn a free s'mores kit.
4. Kits can be used at the fire pit and s'mores stations at Pine and 9th Street, which also serve spiced cider.

The Christkindl Zug, the Christmas train, offers kids free rides. The community Christmas tree is lit at 7:15 p.m. in the Library Plaza. The tree lighting draws a crowd of its own. Ahead of last year's event, organizers told the Focus that about 200 students sang at the 2024 lighting.

After the storefronts close, the evening moves into the heated Christkindl Markt tent for Weihnachtsfest. Here is the planned 2026 schedule:

Public House Brewing Co. returns as the featured Bier and Glühwein vendor. Visit Rolla lists the tent festivities running until 10 p.m. The organizers' information sheet gives 9 p.m. as the end of the evening. If the band's late set is the main reason you're going, plan to be in the tent by 9.

Last year's crowd gives a sense of who turns out. The Focus recap of the 2025 Lichternacht described locals, students, and active and retired soldiers. The evening had German brass-band music, Irish dancing and clogging, and people the paper interviewed mentioned the fire pits, s'mores, Santa, bratwurst and beer.

Where the $35 and the $300 checks go

Joining Lichternacht costs a business $35. The organizers' sheet sets a sign-up deadline of Tuesday, Nov. 10. Sponsorships start at $100 and help fund Lichternacht, the Christkindl Markt and the Rolla Sister Cities Committee. This year's events are presented in partnership with the Rolla Downtown Business Association. Businesses can sign up through the Christkindl Markt Rolla site or by emailing [email protected].

The sponsor list on that site shows how the weekend is pieced together, much of it from in-kind gifts and modest checks:

• Poe's Gas provides the propane for the tent heaters.
• Grellner Sales and Service donated printing for vendor signage, valued at more than $500.
• Metz Music provides lighting and sound for the tree lighting and the Christkindl Markt entertainment stage, plus the keyboard at Phelps County Bank.
• Miller Glass of Rolla is listed as a $300 sponsor.
• Rolla Breakfast and Noon Clubs are listed as $500 sponsors.
• Town and Country Bank is listed as a $350 sponsor of the Christkindl Markt coloring contest.

After the 2023 break-ins, that kind of support decided whether the tables, lights and heaters would be ready the next December. RASCA went ahead with plans for 2024 and asked the community for help, as the Focus reported at the time. Organizers are also taking applications from entertainers for 2026.

Saturday starts on Pine Street and ends at City Hall

On Saturday, Dec. 5, the Rolla Area Chamber's 56th annual Christmas Parade steps off at 10 a.m. on Pine Street in Historic Downtown Rolla. Lineup is on Rolla Street at 8:30 a.m. Businesses, organizations and individuals can all enter floats, vehicles or walking groups at no cost through the Chamber's parade page.

The 14th Annual Christkindl Markt follows the parade at the Downtown Festival Lots at 9th and Elm, by City Hall at 900 Elm St. This year's theme is "Gingerbread Wonderland on Rt. 66." Visit Rolla lists the market's hours as 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and says it opens after the parade, so head over from Pine Street once the floats have passed. The listing promises handmade crafts, traditional German food and nonstop entertainment in heated tents. Vendor instructions ask booths to stay open until 5 p.m. If a handmade gift is on your list, shop in the afternoon rather than right before closing.

Both days use the same tent and many of the same volunteers. Friday night and Saturday's market depend on one set of heaters, lights and tables, the gear RASCA had to rebuild after 2023.

The lights that run the rest of December

Once the downtown weekend is over, the Rolla Lions Club runs Christmas in the Park, a free drive-through light display at Lions Club Park, 1061 S. Bishop Ave. Visit Rolla lists the display for Dec. 9 through 23 and Dec. 26, from 6 to 9 p.m. The Lions Club's own page gives only "December," so check with the club for exact nights before you go. The club is also taking exhibitor and sponsor forms for the display.

Our team will be downtown for the tree lighting and the German Band on Dec. 4. If you have questions about Rolla this holiday season, whether you've lived here for decades or arrived this fall, please reach out to Acar Real Estate. Contact Us.