Photo: Chicago's Christkindlmarket. Image taken by Flickr User Michael Kappel, used under a Creative Commons license.

Live reindeer, a Christmas market, choir performances and "story time" are coming to Nicollet Mall this holiday season to replace the Holidazzle parade.

Downtown business interests outlined more details Thursday of the Holidazzle Village, which will transform the mall from 10th to 12th streets into a weekend event space and daily marketplace. The centerpiece of the event, a daily Minneapolis Christmas Market, will be located in Peavey Plaza and cost between $3 and $6 to enter. The Village is free.

The Christmas Market will feature several dozen huts selling candy, holiday trinkets and food -- as well as a tree lighting ceremony. "International days will be featured, during which the diverse ethnic traditions found in Minneapolis will be invited to showcase entertainment, food and gift items," the Downtown Council said in a news release.

The event will run from November 28 to December 24. The market will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day. The Village has more limited hours, however, running just on weekends and the Friday after Thanksgiving, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

""The idea is to really have a constant activity at Peavey Plaza during that entire period between Thanksgiving and New Years Eve," said Downtown Council President Steve Cramer. "And then on weekends have even more things for people to do. So you come to the market and you do other things with your kids."

Events planned for the Village include fireworks, a dog sled exhibit, glass blowing and a pop-up ice rink. That's in addition to the choirs, "Holidazzle character sightings" and live reindeer.

Charging an entrance fee -- which permits entry for the entire season -- to enter the market is a departure from the Holidazzle parade, which was free to the public. Downtown Council President Steve Cramer said the fee will help recoup some of the $400,000 being invested by a Vancouver firm to create the market.

"That is one of the revenue sources to operate the market," Cramer said. "So that is different from the parade, but it's also a pretty substantially different experience from the parade once you're in the market."

The City Council is committing $395,000 in city money for the event, which was expected to leverage about $1.3 million in private investment.

The idea is modeled after similar European marketplaces, including one held in Chicago. The Downtown Council is seeking another $750,000 in the 2015 city budget to expand downtown programming.