Lane County residents know that for several magical weekends leading up to Christmas each year, Holiday Market at the Lane County Events Center is the place to find unique handcrafted gifts, delicious food, a festive atmosphere and free entertainment.
For those who are new in town, visiting, or haven’t been yet, Holiday Market is an event that runs every weekend from mid-November up until Christmas Eve. The Torch spoke with long-time market member and archivist Diane McWhorter, who confirmed that Holiday Market has been held indoors at the Lane Events Center “since at least 1986,” but that there were a few years before that, in the early ’80s, where they held Holiday Market outside on the same blocks as Saturday Market. “One year, we got a whole foot of snow, there was nothing we could do but pack up and go home.”
These days, however, Holiday Market has become something of a “third space,” according to market-goer Maya Kosaraju, “I always talk about third spaces being really important to me, so places that aren’t work and aren’t your house, that you can just hang out and find community in.”
Fellow market-goer Peyton Varney said, “It’s absolutely reminding me of home. Back home in Kentucky we had these things called flea markets, which is what we called them, which were very family oriented events, where they sold all home-made products, home-cooked foods, things like that, and it’s definitely giving me those vibes. It’s kind of like a safe space, is what it feels like honestly, it’s really comforting.”
Upon entering the Lane Events Center, you are first greeted by several buskers playing inside the lobby. Once inside either Evergreen or Holiday Halls, you can find a wide variety of gifts and goodies sold directly from the artisans after turning down each holiday-themed “street” (marked on the floor and on paper maps, which you can pick up at the information booths located at the center of each hall).
There is also a food court located in Evergreen Hall, featuring 14 food vendors serving a variety of international cuisines. To top it all off, live music performances on two stages entertain guests for the majority of each day during Holiday Market, contributing to the feel-good atmosphere.
The bulk of the Holiday Market is made up of hundreds of artisans from all over Oregon — with many local to the Eugene/Springfield and Willamette Valley areas — displaying their goods for sale in often creatively decorated booths.
When it comes to displays, the different artisans each have a unique approach. From one booth set up to feel like you are walking into a cave full of glowing mushrooms, to a corner booth packed with colorful prints for sale by the artist, to a stacked pyramid of tie-dyed toilet paper, each artisan brings their own flair to the spaces, which they can begin applying for in July each year according to Renee Thompson, who is in charge of marketing for Eugene Saturday Market and Holiday Market.
While there are some artisans who attend both Saturday Market during the regular season (which runs from the beginning of April to the end of October), and Holiday Market in November and December, some only participate in Holiday Market.
Also, not every artisan is present every weekend, so the maps are updated weekly to make navigating easier.
Thompson explained that “I know some people think that it’s like we just sort of magically appear, but there’s a lot of work that goes into making it seem like that.”
According to Thompson, there is a relatively small office crew of six who work behind the scenes year-round to make Holiday Market come together, “and we all really love kind of just making this a magical place for the holidays.”
In addition to the office crew, there is a site crew working throughout the event, maintaining cleanliness and working with the durables and sustainability program, as well as security who work for the Lane Events Center.
There are also volunteers doing various tasks around the event, people like Dara Robertson, co-chair of the Holiday Market Committee and serving her second year as a coordinator at the Holiday Market. Robertson explained to The Torch that “this year, our committee members got together and made a bunch of decorations focusing on recycled and reused products.” She added that committee members “made all of the decorations out in the lobby.”
In addition to decorating, committee members like Robertson can also be called on to help with many other tasks, such as taping the floors to show where the booths will go, setting up the “fly-overs” which keep the electrical wires out of the walkways, and even helping artisans creatively display their booths when they need a helping hand. “It’s really fun to jump in and help the staff and other members make their dreams come true as far as how they want to display.”
She continued, “I would love to help more people find ways to go crazy and elevate their booths, because it’s just really fun!”
All of the planning, preparation and collaboration between artisans, volunteers and Saturday Market office administrators pays off in the experience provided to guests.
Once you have found all the gifts that you came for, be sure to check out the convenient Hope and Safety Alliance gift wrapping station located in Evergreen Hall along the Market Promenade, directly between the two sets of double doors. There, by donating to the Hope and Safety Alliance, a local charity that helps those fleeing from intimate partner violence, you can have your purchases wrapped for you.
While Holiday Market 2024 has already logged several magical weekends this year, there is still time left to go, plus reduced hours on Christmas Eve. Parking and entry to the event are always free, so even if none of the trinkets on display catch your eye, you can still go and enjoy the jovial, musical, and community-minded atmosphere.
Remaining days/hours of Holiday Market 2024 according to there
Eugene Saturday Market website:
Dec 14 & 15, 10 am – 6 pm
Dec 21, 22, 23 10 am – 6 pm
Dec 24, 10 am – 4 pm
Holiday Market is at the Lane Events Center 796 W. 13th Avenue In Eugene
