The tinkling of bells rings out across the street. The breeze has a chill in it and the laughing sound of children loading up on a bus flows through it. It is easy to smell the cheer in the air and the crowd is humming with it. In a place like this, you can be sure that Christmas time is now here. Where is such a place? Christkindlmarkt, of course.
The Trumpet staff was lucky enough to be able to send three staffers to SteelStacks in Bethlehem in order to experience Christkindlmarkt firsthand. Upon arrival, it was obvious that the event embodied the Christmas spirit. The Trumpet got an opportunity to speak with Jennifer LoConte, the ArtsQuest Director of Communications.
Christkindlemarkt has a large history, with this holiday season marking the 31st year of holding the event. The event is run by ArtsQuest, which is a Lehigh Valley-based nonprofit organization that helps to provide art, culture, and educational programs. Christkindlmarkt is based upon the open-air markets found in Germany, and their goal with the festival is to “bring the community and bring family and friends together to do shopping in these open-air style European markets,” according to LoConte.
As you begin to walk through the market you will be greeted with cute see-through igloos where family and friends can be spotted enjoying a quick snack break from one of the many vendors or food trucks available around the market. In the middle of it all, there is a shining Christmas tree, perfect for holiday photo-ops. Further along, you could spot some vendors in open, wooden huts or packed together in one of the large white tents.
Found in one of these stands was Keller Glassblowing, who had been attending Christkindlmarkt as a vendor for 25 years. A family-owned small business passed down from parents to their son and his wife was selling an array of delicate glass-blown figures with intricate detail and coloring. When asked why they keep coming back to Christkindlmarkt, Mrs. Keller said, “Well, we like the Christmas feel of the whole place and everybody’s walking around happy. It’s a nice time of the year to be out and doing stuff.”
A hidden gem found between the delicious food trucks and live ice sculpting was the Amy and Laurie nonprofit stand. Amy and Laurie were raising awareness for LVCIL (Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living for People with Disabilities) by selling premade soups and mixes all compact in cute mason jars.
Although the Christkindlmarkt season is now over, the joy that it brought is sure to continue to be felt as many open the handmade gifts that were purchased at one of the market vendors on Christmas morning. Even so, if you didn’t get the chance to make it this year, don’t fret! Christkindlmarkt is open every winter for five weeks from mid-November to mid-December at SteelStacks. With new changes being added each year it surely will be a trip you won’t forget!
A special thank you to Jennifer LoConte for assisting our staff for this experience.
Learn more about ArtsQuest and its mission here: www.artsquest.org
Learn more about Christkindlmarkt here: https://www.christmascity.org/
