The first snow of the year couldn’t have come at a better time, bringing the spirit of Christmas with each flake. With Christmas around the corner and people searching for their loved ones’ perfect gift, Hobart’s annual Holiday Market opened Sunday, November 26. Thankfully, the market was inside of the Hobart Police Complex, and everyone displayed their crafts and talents which spread across the entirety of the complex. Tom’s Traveling Coffee and Bub’s Bowls were favorites among the crowd before entering, or you could munch on some of Noak’s Popcorn as you strolled through the displays.
Hundreds of locals came out to support small businesses, some accepting donations for their crafts such as the Hobart Humane Society. The Humane Society was selling items for your furry friends, but also giving out paw print ornaments and pictures with Santa for any donation you could offer. Other businesses were donating the entirety of their proceeds to organizations such as the Answer for Pregnancy Incorporated, or The Maria Reiner Center.
Hobart local and first year vendor of Amended Fibers Angelina Mendoza loves the Holiday Market because the people are kind and inspiring to her.
“The people here are so talented, there's so much talent in this room and the things that they are making are so incredible and so inspiring,” Mendoza said. “They are incredible, we’ve had great reviews, so this has been a great experience for us.”
Mendoza has been coming to this event as a local, but as her first year working she can see how much it means to the community.
“I see a lot of people that I know in town. There are a lot of people coming together to see their neighbors and community members to support them and our community,” Mendoza said.
Hobart’s Holiday Market is a great way to show your craft and skill set, but it’s more than that for the members of the Maria Reiner Center. Each year they host a bake sale of all homemade goodies, labeled with the recipe, made by their members. They love sharing what they have created, and talking and curating community relationships with everyone that comes to the market.
Executive Director of the Maria Reiner Center Aimee Schallenkamp says that she and the members of the center look forward to this event each year. This event helps the center’s cost, allowing them to maintain all the fun and exciting activities they do throughout the year, and provide lunch and dinner for the members.
“We have a lot of different activities for our members. We love it and it's more like a second home to our members,” Schallenkamp said. “Whether they will come in every day, or a few times a week they make friends and companionship.”
Schallenkamp said that not only do her members look forward to the market each year, but the public loves coming out to see them and get homemade goodies. To them, it is and always will be more than the money for them. They love interacting with the public and spreading joy.
Another organization whose proceeds from the Holiday market is Answer for Pregnancy Incorporated (Answer). After COVID put a damper on Answer’s Bottle Drive, they looked for new ways to fundraise. Board President Patricia Kraynak said they brought everything they could to sell, so her booth had a little bit of everything in hopes that they could raise money for Answer.
“Everybody kind of brought something different to the table,” Schallenkamp said. “One hundred percent of this goes to Answer, we’re not keeping profit, but this is how we keep our doors open.”
After the first hour and half of the market, prospects for Answer seemed to be going well. Answer helps parents that are pregnant or with children in providing aid for them. They provide formula, food, diapers, clothes and much more for parents that are in need of assistance. They also accept donations.
Hobart’s Holiday Market is a stress-free, welcoming and uniquely curated environment to help small businesses and limit the stress of holiday shopping. If you were unable to come out this year or if you would like a unique gift for someone you love, consider attending Hobart’s Holiday Market in the future.
To learn more about Hobart events you can visit: https://www.cityofhobart.org.