At the College Square grand opening on October 24, retired UGA law professor Dan Coenen stood on stage and pointed to one piece of the new plaza: "Byzantine Knight," the human-sized steel sculpture that local artist Harold Rittenberry built and kept for years in his yard, the "Spirit Yard." According to The Red & Black's coverage of SquareFest, Coenen told the crowd, "Now, Harold has parted with his most iconic work. He has done so because, going forward, he wants to share it with everyone, and share it in particular in this beautiful, vibrant, people-centered place."
Four weeks later, on Saturday, November 21, the knight stands at the center of two events. The Athens Downtown Development Authority's first Downtown Athens Holiday Stroll uses College Square as "Holiday HQ." The same day, Chess & Community's Classic City Chessathon turns the surrounding blocks into what its organizers call a giant chessboard. Both events start on the square, and both are designed to send people out into the shops and streets around it. That is the most useful thing to know when planning the day.
Holiday HQ Runs Noon to 5
The Stroll is free and runs from noon to 5 p.m. ADDA calls it the first annual downtown-wide holiday open house. Flagpole pointed out the timing: it falls on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
ADDA's "Magic on the Square" program on College Square plays out like a stage schedule:
- 12 p.m.: Clarke Central and Cedar Shoals orchestra students
- 1 p.m.: Julie Powell Caldwell
- 2 p.m.: Thingamajig, a band of Nuci's Space Camp Amped graduates
- 3 p.m.: Benjahead, a local teen band
- 4 p.m.: an act still listed as TBD on ADDA's page
The square also has a present-wrapping station, a hot cocoa station from Kilwin's, a holiday photo backdrop by local artist Marisa Leilani Mustard, and the Chessathon.
That program is enough to hold you on the square for an hour, and the other pieces of the day are designed to keep you walking. Flagpole put the plaza's cost at $7 million, paid for mostly with future parking revenue. The Stroll is the first holiday event built around it, and ADDA set it up so the square works as a meeting point and the shopping happens on the blocks around it.
The Passport Is the Real Route
The Holiday Passport ties the day together. You can pick one up at four places:
- Holiday HQ on College Square
- Low Yo Yo Stuff
- Rook & Pawn
- Bear Hug Honey Company
The passport is a scavenger hunt built from Athens downtown trivia. Each question points to a participating business, where you look for one of Will Eskridge's holiday animal ornaments and get a stamp. Fill the passport and you're entered to win prizes. Flagpole credits the scavenger hunt to Eskridge as its designer. Local artists will also paint the windows of participating businesses, and the passport leads you past them.
The hunt keeps going after Saturday. According to the event listing, you can pick up a passport and do the hunt through the following week and weekend, and winners will be announced the first week of December. If Saturday is already full, a weeknight lunch downtown the week of Thanksgiving gives you time to work through the stamps.
A Chess Race Through the Same Blocks
The Classic City Chessathon is listed at 101 College Avenue and runs until 2 p.m. Play starts in the late morning, and the US Chess event page gives an 11 a.m. start. It is free to attend and open to the public. On that page, Chess & Community describes the event this way:
"our unique multi-location chess race experience that transforms downtown Athens into a giant chessboard."
The competitive games are 10 minutes per player with a 2-second increment, played under USCF rules but unrated and casual. Players who want to compete for the Chessathon Championship, the Athlena Award and prize money make a donation when they register, which gives them "Champion Access." Those players travel between assigned downtown locations and have to arrive by each round's start time. Competitive slots are limited to roughly 30 to 40 players. Everyone else can play casual games, catch live music and face painting, and visit participating businesses on the event's Taste of Athens Bingo Card. Donations support Chess & Community's youth chess programs, mentorship and events. Event details and registration are on Chess & Community's site.
So between late morning and 2 p.m., players racing to their next board will share the sidewalks with shoppers following passport clues. Both groups are heading for the same storefronts. And the plaza where they all start has a knight standing in it. The steel sculpture got to College Square through a donation that Coenen helped organize with the Athens Community Foundation, as Flagpole reported in November 2025.
The Secret Shoppe on Jackson Street
The Stroll's kids' program is a few blocks from the square, at K.A. Artist Shop, 127 N. Jackson Street. In the "Secret Shoppe," local artists help kids make gifts for friends and family.
| Time | Artist | Project |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00 to 1:00 | Marisa Leilani Mustard | Watercolor cards |
| 1:30 to 2:30 | Will Eskridge | Holiday canvas painting |
| 2:45 to 3:45 | Mary Songster | Fiber arts project |
| 4:00 to 5:00 | Mary Songster | Fiber arts project |
Sessions are for ages 8 and up, with 12 kids per session. Parents can drop kids off at the start and should be back promptly at the end. Registration is free and required, and ADDA's Holiday Stroll page is where it said the sign-up link would be posted. With only 12 spots per session, the earlier you sign up, the better your chances.
A one-hour drop-off gives a parent time for a few passport stamps. If you book the 1:30 session with Eskridge, you'll be shopping during the 2 p.m. Thingamajig set and back on Jackson Street before Benjahead starts at 3.
Santa, the Trolley and the Pocket Park
ADDA's plan keeps the other attractions on the move. Santa will be downtown from 1 to 5 p.m., stopping in different businesses and riding a trolley from Athens Trolley Tours. ADDA posts where he is on its Instagram, @downtownathga. The hop-on, hop-off trolley stops at three places:
- College Square
- South Kitchen
- Ted's Most Best
DJ De La Luna will play at the Downtown Pocket Park on Washington Street, next to the Costa Building.
From the square, that puts music, Santa and shopping in several directions at once, and the trolley connects them for anyone carrying bags or walking with younger kids.
Parking for a Five-Hour Afternoon
Georgia plays at South Carolina in Columbia on November 21, so there's no home football game in Athens that Saturday. You won't be competing with game-day traffic.
The parking rates ADDA lists make the decks the better choice for a long visit. The College Avenue and Washington Street decks are free for the first hour and $2 an hour after that. Metered street parking is $3 an hour, enforced Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with a two-hour limit before 6 p.m. If you park in a deck at noon and stay until 5, that works out to $8, and you won't have to move the car halfway through the afternoon. Both decks are a short walk from College Square.
What the Square Hosts Next
The Stroll starts a busy stretch for downtown and the rest of Athens:
- Athens on Ice comes back to The Classic Center's 440 Foundry Pavilion from December 11 through February 11, 2027. Season passes go on sale Friday, November 13, at 10 a.m. through The Classic Center. According to Visit Athens, the rink season also brings back the Tinsel Trail, with 60 live trees on display.
- Winter WonderLights opens at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, 2450 S. Milledge Ave., on November 19, two days before the Stroll, and runs on select evenings through December 30. According to Visit Athens, tickets are $15 per person, $18 on peak nights, plus taxes and fees. They must be bought online in advance, with timed entry starting at 5:30 p.m.
- The Athens Farmers Market Holiday Artist Market runs November 28 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bishop Park, 705 Sunset Drive.
- The Downtown Athens Parade of Lights steps off December 3 at 7 p.m. from Hancock Avenue and Pulaski Street and ends at City Hall, where Santa lights the Christmas tree.
Passport winners are announced the same week as the parade, so the Stroll stays part of the downtown calendar into December.
If you spend November 21 downtown and start picturing yourself living near College Square, Homes with HP can go through Clarke County with you and talk about what daily life looks like near downtown. Book your white-glove consultation.
