Belleville’s German heritage takes center stage each holiday season as the Christkindlmarkt returns to the Belleville Square, offering authentic crafts, traditional food, and family fun despite challenges posed by mid-December weather.
With times of 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays, with all other days being 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Belleville Square, the Christkindlmarkt provided several business vendors and a place for family activities. Where families could enjoy the warmth of hot chocolate or the feel of riding in a wagon pulled by horses. The market’s blend of German culture and commerce draws in both shoppers and local businesses.
“My family history, we have heritage from Eastern Germany which is where the stuff in my booth comes from,” said Michelle Cunningham, owner of Angel & Miner. She noted she has been operating her booth for three years. “It depends on the day and the weather since we are outside of course, I would say anywhere from 20 to 100 depending on the day,” she added, commenting on the varied attendance.
While vendors like Cunningham bring authentic items, the market’s success and German focus is due to the vision of its organizers.
“Well we’ve been only for two days, but typically the difficulties come from the weather, so yesterday we had a lot of snow, so it can take vendors a while to get here and we never know what the shoppers situation will be like, if they will be able to make it,” Sharon Strausbaugh, Christkindlmarkt organizer, said. “This market is modeled after the Christmas markets in Europe, and the lady that was the instigator of this had lived in Germany,”. “The fact that there’s an advent calendar, there’s gluhwein, there’s holiday music, the types of things in the vendor booth, all of that is very authentic to what you’d see in German Christmas markets”.
Even with all of this authenticity brought to the Christkindlmarkt, there can’t be a market without multiple vendors across the 12 years the Christkindlmarkt has been open in Belleville.
“Since the first year they have been open,” said Sandy Schoenborn, Christkindlmarkt vendor with Abe’s Gourmet Popcorn. She had later commented on how due to the weather she was having a slow day with only 30 customers. “It takes a couple hours to gather all of the shelves and popcorn machines and everything else down here, and to set up I could have the popcorn done in half an hour”.
Both Schoenborn and Cunningham had shown what the vendor side is like when it comes to public events in Belleville, from set-up to inventory and the business side of having customers. It puts into perspective the work that Strausbaugh does for the community of Belleville, and this was a small snippet of what the Christkindlmarkt has to offer. “It is a way to remind us of our culture and roots in Germany as well, not only is this a fun and entertaining event, but it’s also a way to bring people into our town” Strausbaugh said.
