Christkindlmarket brings Christmas magic to Dennison
Alexius Taylor and her stepdaughter Makenna, 9, of Gnadenhutten enjoyed the festival in their matching sweatshirts.
The move to Dennison for this year’s Christkindlmarket added much to the community event. With skaters circling the ice-skating rink, vendors and holiday shoppers, and music filling the streets, Christmas was in the air in Dennison. The new location added more space for the event to spread out, and many downtown businesses and restaurants participated.
Dennison Mayor Greg DiDonato expressed his enthusiasm for the event.
“Oh, my goodness, I can’t say enough,” DiDonato said. “We started out this morning with breakfast with a Grinch, and there was a line for over three hours. As you can see, there’s tons of people here, and downtown’s just moving.”
The many activities were a big draw including the reindeer near Pangrazio’s Pizza, the coloring contest and cookie decorating.
“We have people scattered everywhere. This has really gone beyond our dream,” DiDonato said. “And secondly, a lot of people have made comments on how they love the new downtown.”
Dennison would like to host more events in the future.
“This is what we’re striving for. We’re building an environment where you can do more of this stuff,” DiDonato said.
The sheds that were donated to the village for some of the vendors to use added to the atmosphere.
“They’re going to be multiple use. We could do chili cook-offs. We could do a variety of things with those, and we could have constant activities,” DiDonato said.
The Christkindlmarket is the type of activity Dennison wants to add to make the village a destination for tourists.
Tori Tedesco, a former Dover resident, returned to the county as a vendor at the event. Her business, Little Birdie Design Studio, specializes in knitwear for both men and women and also offers home goods like blankets and kitchen towels.
She has been involved in other markets in the Northeast Ohio area and feels this year’s Christkindlmarket was one of the best for its sense of community.
“I feel like people here are happy to be out shopping and supporting small businesses. They come ready to shop, which I like. It’s very nice and appreciated by us,” Tedesco said. “There are just so many family activities and activities that are set up for everybody, something for all ages, which is great. It’s just a very well-rounded event compared to other events that we’ve done.”
Shana Angel is a member of the Uhrichsville Farmers Market Committee, which also organized the Christkindlmarket.
“The setup this year is absolutely incredible. We have over 30 amazing vendors. We have some fantastic foods and drinks, and it is an incredible atmosphere here today,” Angel said. “It’s unbelievable. The crowd is huge. It is even bigger than I expected.”
Angel and her husband Jonathon own Angel Family Farms and were at the market selling pork and beef products.
“Things have been moving pretty quickly, and we’ve had steady traffic at the booth all day long,” Angel said.
The kids activities were attracting a lot of attention.
“We’ve got letters to Santa; we’ve got s’mores by the fire pits. It’s a lot of fun,” Angel said.
This year also debuted The Christkindl Chronicle, a free newsletter with information about the market, other events in Dennison, a scavenger hunt, recipes, and games and puzzles.
With no time yet to think about an event for next year, Angel already knows they will be back.
“We are so grateful for all of the support that we have received from the village of Dennison and from all of our sponsors, and we are especially grateful for all of our vendors that are here today,” Angel said.