A mere two weeks after the remote Wreath Workshops, St. Luke’s “Christmas Market:  Culinary Classics & Crafts to Go” took place Saturday, December 5 from 10:00 a.m.-Noon outdoors on the side lawn of the church.  This event was held as an interim alternative to the traditional Christmas Tea & Craft Sale due to the Covid-19 restrictions preventing us from holding any inside events at the church.  We had to modify our plan and focused mainly on foods while severely limiting craft displays.  Pre-ordering of soups, preserves, and other edible items was strongly encouraged.  

•  On Friday (the day before the event) — four pop-up tents and tables of various sizes were erected in about an hour by David Carey and Doug Edson, two of the most obliging, skilled, and speedy roustabouts in town.  Early on a rainy Saturday morning, all food started arriving from the different chefs.  Soon the four clustered tents sheltered tables around the outside edges displaying a few Christmas-oriented crafts, evergreen sprays, treats for pets and wildlife, and many edibles from snacks, sweets, and desserts to entrées and soups.  

• The packaging of pre-orders began immediately— no easy task because there was very little room to maneuver around the coolers inside the tents.  Bit by bit the pre-orders were picked up, and workers could concentrate on the customers at hand, who browsed most minimally because of the rain.  By noon, a lot of food had been sold, and all volunteers were certainly cold and wet.  

• At the end of the day,  the Christmas Market turned out to be an amazingly successful event. Everyone involved in the outdoor Christmas Market were amazed by the financial success of the day, and shoppers were truly appreciative that the event was held in spite of the wretched weather.  

• Many thanks go to those who supported the event by purchasing items, but especially to the core troopers who made food or crafts ahead of time, to those who helped with set-up and take-down, and to those hardy souls who worked the event.  Be sure to read the complete article about this event in the December LITS on this website.

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