Craft, Food & Wine Holiday Market attracts large crowds

Emmett Kerberg, of Canton, buys a caramel apple sold by Applewood Orchards owner Andrew Brice at the Craft, Food & Wine Holiday Market at SUNY Potsdam’s Maxcy Hall Saturday, Dec. 2. The annual event was hosted by the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce. NCNow photo by Cheryl Shumway.

POTSDAM — The Craft, Food & Wine Holiday Market drew more than 4,000 shoppers at SUNY Potsdam’s Maxcy Hall Dec. 1 and 2.

A total of 119 vendors sold their products at the annual fundraiser for the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce. Most vendors were local, but some came from outside the county, including in Jefferson and Franklin counties, Syracuse, Albany, Rochester, and Vermont.

“The Holiday Market was a huge success this year,” said Kathryn Puleo, STLC Chamber Tourism & Events Manager.

“We received a lot of great feedback regarding the new site plan providing additional space, the dedicated wine area, shuttle service, and the variety of quality vendors throughout the event,“ she said.

The holiday market returned to a two-day event, with Friday afternoon/evening hours, and Saturday.

“Extending the Holiday Market to two days accomplished our goal of spreading attendance to alleviate the congestion between aisles for customers to shop more comfortably. This also effectively increased our vendors sales,” said Puleo.

“For us, this is an opportunity to encourage shopping local,” she said.

“It also provides a much needed marketing and sales opportunity for small businesses that make handmade and value-added products,” she said.

“Many vendors requested an application for 2024’s market and expressed interest in joining STLC Chamber Membership. We are looking forward to continuing to create a unique holiday shopping destination for next year’s event and many ideas are already in the works,” Puleo said.