On Dec. 3, seniors Brielle Rudolph and Allyson Shulman were walking around in D.C. touring the free museums when they were stopped by a busy scene in front of the National Portrait Gallery. Intrigued, they walked through the bustling streets and a gate into the dazzling lights in front of them, where they spent hours wandering the tents.
Featuring over 70 different small businesses, the 19th Annual Downtown Holiday Market is open from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. from Friday, Nov.17 to Saturday, Dec. 23 on F Street NW between 7th and 9th Streets NW, with the entrance outside the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum.
With the market only being open a few weeks a year, locals may not have gotten to visit as much as they would’ve liked. However, the market provides students with a new place to visit on weekends. Rudolph said, “It was such a fun way to spend a few hours with my friends downtown doing something we haven’t done before. My parents went a long time ago and had always wanted to take us but we never had time. When we were done, we took the Metro from Gallery Place to get home and it was only a couple minutes walk away.”
From clothes to crafts to puzzles, the market featured different products with something for everyone. There are three different categories for the exhibitors: the first half of the show from Nov. 17 to Dec. 3, the second half of the show from Dec. 5 to Dec. 23, and the whole show. The link to the site map can be found here or on the market’s website. Shulman said, “I got a few pairs of earrings and my friend got a few different works of art for her room. All the vendors we talked to were really nice and it was interesting to hear about their small businesses.”
The market’s food vendors include the craft BBQ kitchen Old Blue BBQ, a specialty European cheese shop A Little Slice of Europe, The Taste of Germany, The Capital Candy Jar, the chocolate shop Chouquette, and Migue’s Mini Donuts. Shulman said, “It was freezing, and the donuts were a great sweet treat that helped warm us up. It also was fun being able to bring something new home to my parents and brothers, as specialty chocolates aren’t something we’re able to have much.”
Within the market, there is a stage that features local bands and musicians every day. The musicians cover a variety of genres including folk rock, R&B, jazz, soul, blues, holiday, and a capella. Rudolph said, “When we went we didn’t know what we were walking into, but then we started to hear music to play and felt the holiday spirit. It was a local band I had never heard of, but it was still really fun to listen to while we were walking around. It also helped us ignore the fact that we were freezing.”
