Merry Market offers holiday shopping in downtown DeKalb

DeKALB – Holiday shoppers on the lookout for that perfect gift for a loved one have a chance to sift through dozens of local and regional vendors during downtown DeKalb’s annual Merry Market, with a preview Friday and a kickoff Saturday.

Presented by DeKalb Back Alley Market – the team behind the bi-annual vendor fair that fills Palmer Court downtown – Merry Market promises shoppers a chance to explore nearly four dozen vendors offering pottery, trinkets, jewelry, art, coffee, jams, desserts, wreaths, glass creations and more.

A preview of the market will offer shoppers a sneak peak Friday, organizers said.

“Shop small, get unique and different items. You’re not buying what’s in the big box stores. You’re supporting all types of small businesses,” said organizer Leslie Conklin, owner of Found. Home & Vintage, 153 E. Lincoln Highway, DeKalb.

Dimensions Dance Academy will host its third annual “Tinsel N’ Tutus” event from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday where dancers will perform inside shop windows. Multiple downtown business also will offer special activities.

During that event, about 20 participating Merry Market vendors will be set up between First and Third streets on or near Lincoln Highway, organizers said.

The full Merry Market with more than 40 vendors runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. The vendors each day may vary.

For those looking to patronize downtown businesses and vendor setups, they should know their money goes a long way.

“You’re directly supporting families. And it’s all right here, local,” said organizer Vicky Hurd Obermiller, owner of Kids Stuff, 149 E. Lincoln Highway downtown.

Participating businesses will have a gingerbread man or candy cane cut out displayed outside their shops so people will know which locations have vendors inside. Vendors will be mostly between First and Third streets downtown but also include This & That Collectibles, 520 E. Lincoln Highway, which on its own will include 26 vendors offering fares, organizers said.

Items for sale range from pine wreaths and sweet treats to saw-carved wooden Santas, glass and resin makers, art, soaps, freeze-dried candy, fabric items, customized gifts, embroidered vintage clothes, organic wellness products, jewelry, upcycled sweater mittens and more.

Storefronts also will have a printed list of all 11 participating locations in their front windows, organizers said.

“There’s a good variety,” Hurd Obermiller said.

For more information and a full list of vendors, visit facebook.com/palmerct.