Christmas market draws thousands
With snow on the ground and temperatures below freezing here to stay, Christmas shopping season is upon us.
The Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede gave Hatters a chance to get ahead in their annual shopping duties this weekend, with a two-day Christmas Farmers Market held at the Cypress Centre.
“This is our 21st annual Farmers Christmas Market at the Stampede,” said market co-ordinator Doreen Gunderson. “This market offers a really big variety of items from homemade crafts, baking, body products, coffee — it's a lot like the usual summer farmers markets but on a larger scale.”
The event featured 81 vendors and Gunderson says it was a good year for the market.
“Usually we have 75 vendors but we sold out this year,” she said. “We’re expecting 4-4,500 people at the market, that's about average.
“Last year we had really bad weather on the Friday so our numbers are way up from last year already.”
Vendor Ted Kolody takes part in the market every year and says this year’s was really productive.
“It’s been really busy — packed,” he said. “I do this every year and it's good to make some sales for Christmas.”
Gunderson says once it gets cold outside people need unique places to get holiday shopping done.
“All of the stuff here is different — it’s not stuff you’ll be able to find in stores,” she said. “The unique items are really great and they bring a lot of people out.”