Long running festivals tend to lose crowds since there’s
never anything new going on. Not so with the Mistletoe Market. Now in its 10th
year, the William
King Regional
Arts Center
event has plenty new.
Director of Development Emily Woolwine said nearly half of the merchants coming
to the three-day event this year are fresh faces. Woolwine said that out of the
58 merchants on the list, 28 have never been to the Mistletoe Market. Arts
center Director Betsy White said the new merchants should attract some
attention.
“That’s what people always want to hear about,” she said.
According to Woolwine, it is a pretty big jump in newcomers compared to years
past. She said that usually, they’ll only have 10 or so new merchants with many
old ones returning.
In addition to the new crowd, Woolwine said there are more merchants than
usual. She said it’s the arts center aim to go big.
“It’s great working with the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center,” she
said. “They let us expand at will. We’ll probably keep growing until we run out
of room.”
In addition to getting more merchants, Woolwine said they hope to add more
entertainment in the future.
“We’re always trying to get more groups involved in (the Mistletoe Market),”
she said.
But for the meantime, the events at the Mistletoe Market this year are pretty
standard fare. Woolwine said that the Sunday brunch, a teacher appreciation day
and, of course, a visit from Kris Kringle himself will highlight the event.
And though the economy is in a downslide, Woolwine hopes the Mistletoe Market
will be a silver lining.
“It gives people a chance to shop out of the area without going out of the
area,” she said. “It’s a nice way to kick off the holiday season.”
Proceeds from admission and booth rental go towards the general operating fund
of the William King Regional
Arts Center.
Call 628-5005 for more information or ticket reservations.
Justin Harmon can be reached at 628-7101 or
