{"id":110386,"date":"2021-12-22T16:17:44","date_gmt":"2021-12-22T21:17:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=110386"},"modified":"2021-12-22T16:17:44","modified_gmt":"2021-12-22T21:17:44","slug":"artsquests-christkindlmarkt-boosts-small-business-sets-near-record-attendance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=110386","title":{"rendered":"ARTSQUEST\u2019S CHRISTKINDLMARKT BOOSTS SMALL BUSINESS, SETS NEAR RECORD ATTENDANCE"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 93,500 visitors shopped at the annual holiday market featuring vendors from across the region<\/strong><\/p>\n

BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2013 ArtsQuest\u2019s\u00a0Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem<\/a>, presented by\u00a0Univest Financial\u00ae<\/a>, had a successful 29th year this holiday season. More than 93,500 people attended this year\u2019s market, a number second only to 2019\u2019s record-setting number (almost 95,000). Guests supported the market\u2019s 167 unique craft and retail vendors for five weekends from Fri., Nov. 19 \u2013 Sun., Dec. 19.<\/p>\n

\u201cVisitors from the Lehigh Valley and beyond answered the call to shop small this holiday season,\u201d Kassie Hilgert, President and CEO of ArtsQuest said. \u201cMore than ever, this year\u2019s Christkindlmarkt was a lifeline for so many artists, crafters and retailers from our region. We were thrilled to return to a full-scale festival this year and we thank all of our sponsors, donors and supporters who helped us contribute to the magic of all the wonderful activities, charm and attractions that make Bethlehem the Christmas City.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christkindlmarkt, voted one of the top two markets in 2021\u2019s\u00a0USA TODAY\/10Best Holiday Market<\/a>\u00a0competition, offered guests a unique in-person holiday shopping experience. The 2021 festival featured more than 100 Pennsylvania-based vendors and 66 live musical performances. Along with local vendors, guests were able to shop from around the world from holiday favorites like Germany\u2019s K\u00e4the Wohlfahrt handmade ornaments and collectibles. Many new and returning vendors have told ArtsQuest they enjoyed record sales throughout the festival\u2019s five-week run.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was great to be back, we saw a lot of former clients and made a lot of new friends,\u201d Michael Sandy of\u00a0Michael Sandy Photography<\/a>\u00a0said. Sandy, known for his stunning photography featuring Bethlehem\u2019s unique architecture, has been a vendor at Christkindlmarkt for more than a decade. \u201cArtsQuest did an amazing job of getting people in this year. This was probably our best show ever financially in a five-week period. The experience was absolutely fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early indications show food and beverage sales were up significantly when compared to both 2019 and 2018. Guests feasted from an array of seasonal eats like strudel, German bratwurst and a variety of dishes from eight local food vendors. Attendees also got into the holiday spirit by enjoying beverages at the festival\u2019s additional bar and by sampling from local distillers and vintners.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people were rejoicing and happy to be out and about this holiday season,\u201d Elaine Pivinski, Owner of\u00a0Franklin Hill Vineyards<\/a>\u00a0said. \u201cThe energy levels of the ArtsQuest team and our teams were the perfect match. Our sales were strong and we were proud to give people the opportunity to give great gifts made here in the Lehigh Valley.\u201d<\/p>\n

The success of Christkindlmarkt would not be possible without hundreds of ArtsQuest volunteers and the support from presenting sponsor Univest Financial and the corporate community. Thousands of visitors took advantage of new community hours on Friday nights throughout the festival when all entry fees were waived thanks to ArtsQuest\u2019s partner\u00a0T-Mobile<\/a>. Families enjoyed photos and activities with jolly Old St. Nicholas, presented by\u00a0NJM Insurance<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Just Born Quality Confections<\/a>\u00a0throughout the five-weekend festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnivest Financial was proud to again serve as presenting sponsor of Christkindlmarkt,\u201d said Annette D. Szygiel, Executive Vice President and Chief Experience Officer at Univest Financial. \u201cThe overwhelmingly positive response to this event and stellar attendance is a testament to Christkindlmarkt being a favorite Christmas City tradition. Univest is dedicated to supporting the local communities we serve and this event was especially important this year as it provided a great opportunity to support local artisans and small businesses at a time they need it more than ever. Thanks to ArtsQuest for their dedication to safely bringing the community together in support of the arts in the Lehigh Valley.\u201d<\/p>\n

ArtsQuest would like to thank elected officials Sen. Pat Browne, Sen. Lisa Boscola, Rep. Steve Samuelson, Northampton County Council and County Executive Lamont McClure, as well as Lehigh County Commissioners and County Executive Phillips Armstrong, who provided CARES Act funding that kept our doors open, allowing ArtsQuest to bring this festival back.<\/p>\n

Christkindlmarkt 2022 is scheduled to begin on Fri., Nov. 18. Visit\u00a0artsquest.org<\/a>\u00a0for more information on events coming up in the new year.<\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nNicole Harrell
\nArtsQuest Director of Communications
\nhttp:\/\/www.artsquest.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than 93,500 visitors shopped at the annual holiday market featuring vendors from across the region BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2013 ArtsQuest\u2019s\u00a0Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem, presented by\u00a0Univest Financial\u00ae, had a successful 29th year this … Continue reading ARTSQUEST\u2019S CHRISTKINDLMARKT BOOSTS SMALL BUSINESS, SETS NEAR RECORD ATTENDANCE<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5717,69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bethlehem","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/CHRISTKINDLMARKT-21.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110386"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=110386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/110387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=110386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=110386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=110386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}