The Katy Exchange is a City of Katy market at Historic Town Square, 904 Avenue C, with two dates left on its 2026 calendar. The first is Saturday, Nov. 14. The second is the Katy Nutcracker Exchange on Saturday, Dec. 5. From a distance it looks like a market for local makers. It is better described as a fundraiser that happens to sell things. The money the series gives to Katy nonprofits comes from the vendors, through the fees they pay to take part, and not from what shoppers spend at their tables.
That matters for anyone in Lakes of Cane Island, the Waller County community that sits next door to Cane Island and calls itself Katy's newest. When a neighbor buys a candle or a jar of jam downtown, the purchase helps keep the market worth a vendor's application fee. Those fees are what the city turns into checks.
Where the Money Comes From
The organizer's listing for the May 9 Exchange on Eventeny says it most precisely:
"every Exchange donates 100% of proceeds from the vendor application fees directly to charitable organizations."
The listings for the November and December 2026 events use the shorter phrase "100% of proceeds." They add that each event highlights two nonprofit organizations. Local coverage puts it a little differently. A March 2026 photo caption in Katy Times says that "net profits from the Exchange are used to fund donations to Katy-area nonprofits." Both versions point to the same structure. The market's own revenue funds the giving, and the vendor side of the event generates that revenue.
The vendor applications show who pays in. The Nov. 14 listing has three categories:
- Young Entrepreneurs, for business owners aged 21 and under
- Food Trucks, for vendors cooking on-site from trucks or tents
- Arts, Crafts, Retail, covering handmade jewelry, home décor, wooden signs and furniture, plus pre-packaged baked goods, jams, sauces and spices sold under Cottage Law, and retail such as clothing, books, outdoor goods and henna
Approval does not lock in a booth. Food truck applicants are told they secure their space by paying one week before the event. If they miss that deadline, the space goes to the next applicant in line. A waitlist like that only works if vendors think the crowd is worth the fee. In that way, the people walking the square help fund the donations even though their purchases go straight to the vendors.
What the Fees Have Paid For
The series began in 2025. Its Eventeny page, titled "The Inaugural Katy Exchange," closes out that first season with a Katy Nutcracker Exchange on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. The city's announcement of the series described it as a free set of six events from March through December. It named Katy VFW Post 9182 and Camp Hope, run by the PTSD Foundation of America, as the beneficiaries of the very first Exchange.
According to the organizer, the Exchange gave more than $22,000 to local charities in that first year. Two donations show what that looks like at a single event:
| Date | Recipient | Amount | Reported by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 15, 2025 | Katy Home Savers, a nonprofit that helps senior citizens and others with home repair | $2,500 | Katy Times |
| March 14, 2026 | Katy ISD Education Foundation | $2,500 | Katy Times |
Set against the $22,000 first-year figure, a single $2,500 check is a meaningful share. In both cases, city staff handed over the check on the square during the market itself. Katy Times reported that City Administrator Byron Hebert and Tourism and Marketing Events Coordinator Kaci Maris presented the November 2025 donation in the downtown square at Second Street and Avenue C.
A Market That Changes With the Calendar
The Exchange does not repeat the same event each month. In 2026 it took on a different theme for several dates, and its hours moved with the theme. The city's events calendar shows the full year:
| 2026 date | Edition | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, March 14 | Katy Exchange | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Saturday, April 4 | Katy Easter Exchange | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Saturday, May 9 | Katy Exchange | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Saturday, June 13 | Katy International Food Fest Exchange | 4 to 9 p.m. |
| Saturday, Nov. 14 | Katy Exchange | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | Katy Nutcracker Exchange | 2 to 8 p.m. |
There is a long gap between June and November. Most of the summer is off, and in October the square hosted the Katy Rice Harvest Festival on Oct. 10 and 11. The same thing happened last year. Katy Times ran its November 2025 coverage under the headline "Katy Exchange market resumes following Rice Harvest Festival hiatus." So the November market reopens the square to local vendors after the city's biggest weekend of the year.
Nov. 14: The Year's Last Morning Market
The Nov. 14 Exchange runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 904 Avenue C. It is the last of the year's morning markets. It also falls on the morning after the city's free Fall Community Campout at VFW Park on George Bush Drive, which runs from Friday afternoon until 9 a.m. Saturday. Registration for the campout has already closed, so it only matters here as a reason the square may be busy early.
The organizer describes the November market as shopping, dining, live music and local connection, with two nonprofits highlighted. Last year's November edition went further. Katy Times reported a petting zoo, pet adoption, a bounce house, fall crafts, lawn games and music from DJ Max. The city has not posted this year's lineup or the two recipient nonprofits for Nov. 14. Those details typically come closer to the event, so check back for them.
Dec. 5: Market by Afternoon, Tree by Evening
The Katy Nutcracker Exchange is the only 2026 edition that runs into the evening on the same day as a city tradition. The city lists it from 2 to 8 p.m. on the square. The Christmas Tree Lighting is set for the same Saturday at the same address, with its time still listed as TBA. Katy Kids Guide treats the two as one afternoon, with vendor shopping, Santa photos and the tree lighting. Here is how the day lines up from what has been published:
- 2 p.m. The Nutcracker Exchange opens on Historic Town Square.
- Afternoon. Vendor shopping and Santa photos, per Katy Kids Guide.
- Time TBA. The City of Katy's Christmas Tree Lighting.
- 8 p.m. The Nutcracker Exchange closes.
The December listing uses the same charitable format as the rest of the series, with the same three vendor categories. For holiday shoppers, that makes the last market of the year the one where a gift purchase and the season's final donations meet on the square.
Downtown Katy's tree is a different event from the one at LaCenterra. LaCenterra lists its Annual Tree Lighting for Nov. 20, with a 50-foot tree, holiday activities, live entertainment and vendor booths. The Dec. 5 lighting on Avenue C comes about two weeks later. Unlike LaCenterra's, it shares the square with a market whose vendor fees go to charity.
Downtown has a new storefront worth adding to that Saturday. Sookie's Needlepoint, a mother-and-daughter shop, opened June 1, 2026, at 5627 Third St. It sells needlepoint supplies and hosts classes and events, Community Impact reported. Its first holiday season downtown overlaps with the Exchange's second.
The Katy Exchange gave more than $22,000 to local charities in its first year. Its last two chances to add to the 2026 total are Saturday, Nov. 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 5, from 2 to 8 p.m., both at 904 Avenue C.
At Drew & Co., we follow the community calendars around Lakes of Cane Island as closely as we follow its market, because they shape what life here feels like day to day. If you'd like a fuller picture of what downtown Katy and its seasonal traditions add to life in your corner of Waller County, please Contact Us.
