Mount Vernon has three holiday shopping events this year, and the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group runs all of them. The Holiday Open House is Nov. 6 and 7, Shop Small Saturday is Nov. 28 and Magical Mount Vernon is Dec. 12. The two November events list the same shops as participants, and the prize money at both can only be spent at businesses in Mount Vernon or Lisbon.
The Season at a Glance
| Date | Event | Early start | What's handed out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri.–Sat., Nov. 6–7 | Holiday Open House | 9 a.m., outside Mount Vernon Bank & Trust | $1,000 in Community Cash, first come, first served |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Shop Small Saturday | 8 a.m., at the Visitor Center | Swag bags for the first 50 customers |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Magical Mount Vernon | Runs 2–7 p.m. | Santa visits, cookie decorating, living nativity, performances |
Both November dates also have an ornament scavenger hunt. Paper ornaments are hidden inside participating shops, and you bring the ones you find back to the Visitor Center to trade for local prizes. For the Open House, the Visitor Center is staffed from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The swag bags on Nov. 28 are filled with items from local businesses, and the CDG says to watch its social media, @VisitMVL, for Community Cash giveaways sponsored by Lynch Ford Chevrolet.
Fourteen Names, Printed Twice
The Holiday Open House listing names 14 participating businesses. The Shop Small Saturday listing starts with the same names in the same order: The Local, Blooming Acres Sewing Studio, Hill Of A Deal, Bauman & Company, Little Scratch Coffee Roasters, Alexandra Rambo–Painting & Pottery, Wren & Purl, Iron Leaf Press, Bass Family Farms and Happy Daze. The Open House list also includes:
- Silver Spider
- Sparrow Massage Therapy
- Abbe Creek Gallery, which Travel Iowa lists at 105 1st Street NW
- Back Porch Pickers and Artisans
Several of these shops are close together. Iron Leaf Press sells letterpress greeting cards, stationery and gift items, and its website gives its storefront address as 113 First St. NE, Suite A. Travel Iowa lists Bauman & Company at 124 1st Street SW. Little Scratch Coffee Roasters also shows up away from its own counter. The Gazette's profile of White Tree Bakery mentions Little Scratch drip coffee served with the bakery's scones.
Because the shop list barely changes between Nov. 6 and Nov. 28, both scavenger hunts send people through the same doors. The prize money stays local as well.
Where the Giveaway Money Has to Land
Mount Vernon Bank & Trust's Open House giveaway is $1,000 in Community Cash, handed out in $5, $10 and $20 amounts starting at 9 a.m. during the Nov. 6–7 Open House. Community Cash doesn't work like a check. According to the CDG's Community Cash guidance, you show the card at a business in Mount Vernon or Lisbon, the business treats it as cash and you have to use the full value in one purchase. That guidance was posted in January 2025, and it's the most recent version the CDG has published.
So the $1,000 the bank hands out on First Street can only be spent at businesses in those two towns. Because the full value goes in one purchase, a $20 card works best at a shop where you already planned to spend about that much. The Lynch Ford Chevrolet giveaways on Nov. 28 use the same Community Cash. Between the two weekends, the scavenger hunt prizes come from local businesses, the swag bags hold local products and the gift money can't be spent outside Mount Vernon and Lisbon.
The Newest Doors on the Route
This year's list includes a few shops that are new or new to First Street, so the route doesn't look quite like it did a year ago.
Blooming Acres Sewing Studio held a ribbon cutting at its new uptown First Street location on Sept. 14, according to the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun. That makes the Nov. 6–7 Open House its first holiday season there. It's also the second name on both participant lists.
Wren & Purl, a yarn shop and bookstore, moved to its current First Street location in early 2025, the Sun reported in April. It's on both November lists and had a role on Magical Mount Vernon day last year too.
First Street Breakfast Company isn't on either list, but it matters for anyone planning an early start. It opened June 3, 2026, in the café space that used to be Plantiful Pantry. The Gazette reported that owners Michelle and Cody Rollinger are longtime Mount Vernon residents. Both November events start early, at 9 a.m. for the Community Cash giveaway and 8 a.m. for the swag bags, and this is the first holiday season with a breakfast restaurant on First Street near the Visitor Center line.
Dec. 12, and What Last Year's Layout Showed
Magical Mount Vernon runs five hours on Saturday, Dec. 12, from 2 to 7 p.m. The CDG's event page lists Santa visits, cookie decorating, a living nativity, dance and music performances, and open streets for shopping, walking and dining in historic Mount Vernon. The page also says the full schedule, parking, business and bus details are still to come.
Until those details are posted, last year's event is the best guide to how the day is laid out. The Sun's Dec. 3, 2025 preview described the 2025 event this way.
- Shuttles ran from Back Porch Pickers at 616 First Ave. N. and St. John Catholic Church at 212 Seventh St. SE.
- Reserved accessible parking was at the First Street Community Center, 221 First St. NE, and United Methodist Church, 312 First St. W.
- Santa was at Mount Vernon Bank & Trust, character photos were at Wren & Purl and the Visitor Center served cocoa and cookies.
- There was a craft bazaar at City Hall and cookie decorating at First Presbyterian Church.
- St. Paul Lutheran gave two living nativity performances at Memorial Park, and the First Street Building was lit.
Those were the 2025 locations, and the 2026 logistics may change. Still, last year's map shows the same pattern as November. The bank that hosts the Open House giveaway was also Santa's stop, and Wren & Purl and Back Porch Pickers, both on the November lists, had roles on the December day too.
The Weeknights in Between
Cornell College's fall fine-arts schedule fills several evenings between the Saturdays. Its September preview lists:
- Tuesday, Nov. 17: a free choir concert open to the public
- Thursday, Nov. 19: a Contemporary Commercial Music showcase
- Sunday, Dec. 6: free jazz and pop ensemble concerts
- Dec. 10–14: "Hallways: A Fall Dance Concert," a student dance production, with ticket details in the college calendar listings
The dance concert's Saturday, Dec. 12 performance is at 7:30 p.m., half an hour after Magical Mount Vernon ends. The preview came out in September, so check times against Cornell's calendar before you go.
The Last Season Before Highway 1 Work
The Iowa Department of Transportation plans to rebuild sections of Highway 1 in Mount Vernon in two phases starting in 2027. According to the city, the work covers 2nd Street North to the Union Pacific Railway and 2nd Street South to the US Business 30 roundabout. At an Oct. 12 Lisbon council meeting, covered by the Sun, department heads described the project as a full reconstruction starting in spring 2027 and told residents to expect detours. Mount Vernon's Sept. 9 council minutes show the city was still being billed for design work on the project. Detour routes haven't been published, which means the Open House Community Cash line, the Nov. 28 swag bags and the Dec. 12 shuttles all take place on the streets as they are now, before construction begins.
If you'd like to talk about how Mount Vernon's First Street fits your plans, Cory Rath is happy to meet over coffee on First Street. Let's Connect.
