Holiday Market shows art, music

The Holiday Market, Bloomington’s annual holiday celebration of local arts and food, is returning to City Hall on Nov. 30 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Showers Building. Bloomington natives consider the event a tradition that marks the beginning of the holiday season.

“The Holiday Market is equal parts shopping for holiday gifts, wintertime festival and treasure hunting,” said Julie Ramey, community relations manager for the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department.

The event features a Santa Claus with live reindeer, cookie-decorating, wandering carolers and the TubaSantas, a nationally recognized outfit of festive tuba players based in Bloomington.

“They’re definitely a huge crowd favorite,” Ramey said.

The event is inseparable from the community for its locally sourced produce, arts, crafts and music.

“There’s a big movement that’s centered around local food, and by extension, locally made products and gifts,” Ramey said. “It’s unique to be able to buy your food from the people who grow it.”

The Market also acts as a venue for dozens of local artists and artisans.

“It is really fascinating to see the scope of the talent of the artists at the market, what they’ve created with their own hands,” Ramey said. “Just boundless creativity and imagination.”

Sally Harless is a Bloomington-based artist who has exhibited at the Holiday Market for the past four years. Her art, which is branded and sold under the name Sadly Harmless, features watercolor illustrations of animals in whimsical, Wes-Andersonian scenes.

As an IU alumna — she graduated with a BFA in printmaking in 2007 — Harless is a local artist. She helped found and organize the Bloomington Handmade Market in 2009.

“Since graduating, I decided to stay in Bloomington because it’s a great place to live,” Harless said. “I’m part of a tight-knit community of like-minded artists and crafters, and having that group is vital to me and my business.”

The Holiday Market is distinct for its hands-on atmosphere and artistic variety, she said.

“The Holiday Market has a mix of both modern and traditional crafts, and I think that allows it to appeal to a wide range of people,” she added. “And no other show I do has a band of Santas playing tubas.”

— Steven Johnson