The Christmas at Ware Market, held on a windy and cold Saturday, Dec. 14, attracted more than 1,100 visitors (along many with four-legged mascots) and 62 vendors, according to church spokesman Mary Galloway.
The chilly start saw “many hands reaching for the freely served hot chocolate,” she said.
Many of the vendors, associations and activity booths were decorated for Christmas to enter a contest for prizes, Galloway said. Judges scored for materials, creativity, theme coherence, and overall appeal.
First place went to “Crafty” run by Joy Charbonneau; second to “ROX4U” owned by Valeria Morgan; and third to “Tupperware” by Linda Conway. The People’s Choice Award was won by “Little Chickadee” owned by Tammy Kryzwiecki.
Galloway reported that judges enjoyed participating in the town square atmosphere. “This is a lovely event” commented Robert Fraser of Riverwood Designs.
The market provided “several ingenious replicas of fireplaces in vendors’ stalls posing the question if they wished they were real!” said Galloway. Despite the chill, judges visited every booth and Galloway extended thanks to the judges, Hunter LeClair, Gloucester County Tourism, Marketing and Events Manager; Lynne Manning, President of the Garden Club of Gloucester and Mathews, and Robert Fraser IV and Joseph Barragan of Riverwood Designs.
Susan Ammons of Tourism, Marketing and Events for Gloucester, also attended, photographing the winners and the market highlights.
The Friends of Gloucester County Animal Shelter showcased adoptable dogs, two of which had applicants by the end of the day, Galloway said. In addition, Scout Troop 111 helped with parking and gift wrapping, and Venture Crew 111 and Pack 175 had stalls where they sold goodies to passersby. The Future Farmers of America hosted a booth raising funds by selling Christmas wreaths for their Gloucester High School Agriculture chapter.
The market included a booth for children to craft stars and another to learn decorating with traditional magnolia leaves, boxwood, berries and lemons pierced with cloves. Even Santa Claus showed up for photo-ops.
“Visiting the many talented crafts people living in Gloucester and surrounding counties is part of what makes a Christmas market fun. However, by far the best part was seeing friends, family and neighbors while strolling around this hometown event,” said Galloway.
