Alaska Vintage Holiday Market
Contributed by James Embree
With the Holiday Season upon us it is time once again for Alaska’s best Holiday Market, the Alaska Vintage Markets Holiday Market & Food Truck Fest at the Alaska State Fairgrounds. This annual event features the very best local vendors. Vintage Market vendors are not just reselling factory-made products, they are the designers and makers of the products that they sell. Many of the creative vendors spend most of the year crafting their products like, up-cycled furniture, woodwork, custom clothing and accessories, household décor, pottery, etc. In most of the booths you will be buying directly from the artist/craftsman who made the products.
Holiday shopping at the Vintage Market is so much better than at big box stores. You will find an incredible selection of unique Christmas gifts at the Vintage Market that cannot be found anywhere else. There are too many great booths to fit in one building so the show spills over into both Raven Hall and the Hoskins Building plus outdoor food trucks and a few vendors whose products, i.e. custom made barrel saunas, are too big to fit inside! Even with both buildings there still isn’t room for all of the creative small businesses, so the event goes for two weekends with most of the booths changing out in between. So, to get the full experience you can buy a VIP Pass that is good for unlimited entry on all six days for just $10.
The Vintage Market is also just a fun Holiday Experience with live music, Santa Claus, festive decorations, real reindeer, and even the Grinch! So come to the State Fair Grounds on the weekends of November 22-24 and 29-December 1. Fridays noon to 6:00PM; Saturdays 10:00aAM to 6:00PM and Sundays 10:00AM to 4:00PM. Admission is $5 per day or $10 for VIP Pass for unlimited entry every day, or you can come on either Sunday for free! Look for Alaska Vintage Markets on Facebook for more information.