"When you are selling out by 10:30 or 11, that's just huge to those small businesses," Jenny Gale told the Kansas City Star this spring, looking back at the farmers market's first months inside the Green Street Market building. Gale is assistant director of Downtown Lee's Summit Main Street and manages the Green Street Market. That sellout pace came from a building that was barely a few months old at the time.
The 2026 market season ends Saturday, October 31. In earlier years, the end of the market meant the end of a downtown routine. This year the building at 209 SE Green St. stays booked. Since August 2025, Green Street has become the place where much of downtown's calendar happens, and the November and December schedule shows how far that has gone.
A Market Building That Kept Filling Up
For years the Downtown Lee's Summit Farmers Market ran in a parking lot at Douglas and Second streets, with room for about 40 vendors. After it moved to Green Street, crowds grew by close to 300%, according to Gale. A typical Saturday drew more than 3,000 people, and the smaller Wednesday market grew as well. For 2026 the market added about 20 vendors, which brought the Saturday count to around 70 local sellers and the Wednesday count to close to 35.
Shoppers also stayed longer. Gale told the Star that the average customer spent about twice as much time at the market or in the downtown shopping district after the move, and that people were picnicking, going to lunch and shopping at nearby businesses. Rebecca Sullins, who owns Farm Stand On Orchard with Brandon Sullins, put it this way in the same article: "Now instead of being just a farmers market, it's an experience."
The city describes the Green Street Market as a 17,140-square-foot indoor space that becomes an event venue when the market isn't running. Ten retractable garage-style doors open onto the Green Street Lawn, a canopy-covered turf stage area, and the Green Street Grove is a tree-lined walkway under large arches surrounded by public art. The idea goes back to 2007, when city leaders and residents began setting priorities for cultural arts facilities.
Outside groups have noticed. On July 31, 2026, Missouri Main Street Connection gave Green Street its first Main Street Best in Show Legacy Award. The city's announcement said the four-day opening weekend in 2025 drew more than 12,500 visitors and that downtown traffic doubled compared with a typical August Saturday.
Oktoberfest Moved In, and the Rest of the Calendar Followed
The bigger change came this summer. City leaders ended the Downtown Days festival in June, and the Lee's Summit Chamber of Commerce then rethought Oktoberfest, as KCTV reported in July. The festival used to fill several downtown blocks. For its 37th year it moved onto the Green Street grounds, which cover the Market, the Pavilion, the Grove and the green space around them. It ran September 25 to 27 with gated entry and a $10 admission, and children 9 and under got in free.
The smaller site meant fewer booths. Chamber President Matt Baird told KCTV that the festival usually has about 88 vendors and that this year's count was cut to 43 to fit the space. He also described what the chamber was trying to keep:
"We'll still have vendors, we'll still have kids stuff going on, we'll still have the traditional German meals and the biergarten, all those fun things. We felt we could do all those things at a smaller scale."
The largest event on downtown's fall calendar now fits inside one city-owned venue, and smaller events use it as their meeting point. The Downtown Lee's Summit Haunted & Historic Spaces Tour begins at Green Street on Saturday, October 17, from 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 plus fees, and the money goes to Downtown Lee's Summit Main Street. The tour walks to several downtown buildings with ghost stories attached, and at least one stop involves climbing stairs.
October 31 Is a Doubleheader
The market's last day this year shows how much happens at Green Street at once. Saturday, October 31 is both the final market day of the season and the day of the Boos, Barks and Badges Halloween Parade, which starts with a costume contest at Green Street. Here's how the morning lines up, based on the posted schedules:
- 8 a.m. The last Saturday farmers market of the 2026 season opens in the Green Street Market building and runs until noon.
- 9:30 a.m. The costume contest starts at Green Street, and families can bring pets.
- 10 a.m. The walking parade leaves City Hall for Howard Station Park.
- Late morning to noon. Games, face painting and a bubble party from Bubbletastic, plus trick-or-treating at participating businesses.
A family can shop the end-of-season market, enter the costume contest a few steps away and then walk over to the parade route before the vendors pack up at noon.
The Winter Calendar Runs Through the Same Gate
When the market closes, the building switches to holiday events. These are the dates Downtown Lee's Summit has posted for the Green Street venue:
| Date | Event at Green Street | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Farmers Market Holiday Mart | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., handcrafted gifts and artisan goods |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | Mayor's Tree Lighting | Doors at 5 p.m., live music, new 45-foot tree |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Farmers Market Holiday Mart | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Farmers Market Holiday Mart | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Tue., Dec. 15 | Lee's Summit Jazz Orchestra holiday fundraiser | 16-piece big band, benefits the nonprofit orchestra |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Farmers Market Holiday Mart | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
The Holiday Mart keeps the Saturday habit going at a later hour, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. instead of the market's 8 a.m. to noon. This year's Mayor's Tree Lighting is at Green Street, where a new 45-foot tree will be lit on November 20.
Several other downtown traditions still happen elsewhere, which shows where Green Street's role currently ends. The Annual Veteran's Day Parade, themed "Legacy of Liberty: 250 Years of the American Spirit," runs downtown on Saturday, November 7, from 11 a.m. to noon. That same weekend, November 6 and 7, Mistletoe Madness is a free shopping event at Gamber Community Center, 4 SE Independence Ave. The Holiday Fine Art & Craft Show expects 90 artists at The Pavilion at John Knox Village, 520 NW Murray Road. Skating is elsewhere too. Summit Ice, the city's outdoor rink at 120 NE Chipman Road, opens Wednesday, November 25, and holds Skate With Santa on December 12.
The holiday push goes beyond one venue. In July, KCTV reported that Downtown Lee's Summit was competing to be named "America's Merriest Christmas Town" in a Hallmark Channel contest. Hallmark's contest page says voting has closed and the winner has not been announced.
What Could Be Built Next Door
From the start, Green Street was planned as the public core of a bigger project. The 2025 opening announcement said private development around the market would eventually include a restaurant, a hotel and housing, with LANE4 Property Group as master developer.
The first concrete version came on July 14, 2026. LANE4 and The Thrash Group presented a concept to the City Council for an 84-room hotel and restaurant called "The Novelist." The developers asked for a $4 million city construction loan, sales-tax redirection, property-tax abatement and other incentives, and the presentation called its estimates preliminary and subject to change. KSHB reported that the council made no decision at that meeting. We could not find any public record from August through early October of a vote, a development agreement or a construction timeline. For now, The Novelist is a proposal.
The proposal arrived after the numbers above were already public: a 12,500-visitor opening weekend in August 2025 and market Saturdays of more than 3,000 shoppers.
The Holiday Mart opens November 14, and the tree lighting follows on November 20. If you're wondering how a busier downtown affects the value of your own home nearby, Shawnna Murrell and the Murrell Homes team keep a close eye on Lee's Summit and are glad to talk it through. Get Your Home Valuation, and see how your home compares this season.
