Though Thanksgiving hasn’t happened yet, it’s already time to start thinking about buying holiday gifts.
The mall might seem like the obvious choice for shopping, but local organizations are helping people get shopping done while finding special gifts and avoiding the long lines of the big stores. Here is a list of upcoming events for the holiday shopping season.
Harvest Market
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 17 and 18 at 1780 E. Rayletown Road.
The Harvest Market will be at Whippoorwill Hill event barn. The $5 entry ticket gets visitors access to 24 booths all offering locally made Christmas decoration and gifts. In addition to the shopping, there will be food trucks, hayrides, music and more.
Holiday Market at Artisan Alley
5 to 9 p.m. Nov. 23 and 24, then 3 to 9 p.m. Dec. 14 and 15 at 222 W. Second St.
About 10 to 15 local artists will be there selling their pieces. Beyond buying artwork, people can take free photos with Santa and make their own ornaments.
“It was just something we wanted to do for the holidays,” executive director of Artisan Alley Adam Nahas said. “We’re a community organization, so we want to let Bloomington know that we’re here and we’re here for them and we want to make things affordable and fun and inspire people to enjoy the arts.”
The Holiday Market
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 24 at 401 N. Morton St.
The 16th annual Holiday Market will have produce, arts and craft vendors and holiday music. There are also activities like pictures with Santa, train rides on the Snowflake Express and carriage rides.
Holiday Pop-ups with Gather
Noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 1, Dec. 8, Dec. 15 and Dec. 22.
4 to 7 p.m. Dec. 6 at 116 N. Walnut St.
Some of the vendors featured will be Beri Bee Designs, The Virtuous Bee, Rosmarino Candles, Skirt and Satchel, Fearless Ringleader, Starsprinkle Supercollider, 407 Botanicals Natural Skincare and Bath and Tactile Melodies.
The event serves as an opportunity to meet the makers of many of the gifts sold in the Gather shop.
Bloomington Brick and Mortar presents: Holiday Hike
4 to 7 p.m. Dec. 6 at various locations.
Presented by Bloomington Brick and Mortar, a subgroup of Downtown Bloomington Incorporated, this event is meant to encourage shoppers to support many of the Bloomington stores. Shoppers will be encouraged to go to various stores which have partnered together. Each store involved will be offering various deals and refreshments. Some shops on the hike this year include Cactus Flower Clothing, The Tailored Fit and Lola and Company.
“We try to do different things throughout the year to bring in more shoppers,” Margaret Fette, owner of The Tailored Fit and member of Brick and Mortar said.
Talia Halliday, Gather owner and organizer for the Holiday Hike, said she saw a similar event happening in Indianapolis and suggested bringing something like it to Bloomington. Last year, there were about 20 shops involved.
