The Merry & Bright Christmas Market is back for its second year on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 26. The market is operated by the women’s ministry at Central Christian Church in Queen Creek and the purpose of the market is to help donate toys and gifts before Christmas for families that otherwise might not be able to afford any.
The market will be host to roughly 70 local artisans and vendors selling a variety of products, making it the perfect place to get some Christmas shopping done. The entrance fee to the market is a new, unwrapped toy that will go to the church’s Fill the Sleigh Toy Drive, which works with local schools to distribute the gifts to parents who need them.
Along with the vendors selling goods, there will be a basket raffle with items from local businesses and a barbecue lunch made by the men’s ministry at the church. Last year, the market requested a perishable food item for entrance but after over 1,000 people came through the market they decided to use it as a chance to help the Fill the Sleigh campaign.
The market was first started when a pastor at the church, Becky Thompson, had the idea to incorporate her experience working with boutique shops into an event for the women’s ministry. Another member of the church, Dawn Veraldo, also had experience working with vendor markets and the idea grew from there. Women at the church thought Christmas would be the perfect opportunity to put this idea into action.
“All the toys that are collected go out to local schools that are involved and then parents from the schools fill out applications at the schools and then they pick everything up at the school,” Melissa Folliott, a committee member for the market, said. “So it kind of allows the school to be the champion for the family and, you know, kind of gives that dignity back to the parents who might not otherwise be able to afford the Christmas toys for their kids.”
While the donated toys will go to local children, a lot of the money raised from the basket raffle along with any cash donations will go towards gift cards for teens, to ensure children of all ages receive gifts.
Once inside the market, there will be dozens of local vendors selling items such as blankets embroidered on site, handmade candles, clothing, purses and many more unique items. A great deal of the items for sale at the market are handmade, one way or another, by the artisan selling them.
“We have about 20 vendors from last year that are returning,” said Veraldo, coordinator of the market. “I mean, we just love being a part of the community and bringing the community into the church and giving back to the Queen Creek community. That's what it's all about.”
The market’s basket raffle will feature items, some Christmas-themed, donated by businesses in the Queen Creek area and the church.
“It gives local Queen Creek businesses some exposure and they're giving back to the community,” Veraldo said. “We're just kind of the middleman.”
For the parents coming to shop, the Merry & Bright Christmas Market will have an area to drop off kids with games and movies to keep them plenty occupied. It’ll also have a barbecue lunch courtesy of the men’s ministry at the church, a group that includes award-winning barbecue chefs.
“Just seeing everything come together last year, for our first time, and all the awesome volunteers we had and just really, it was a huge team effort,” Veraldo said. “I walked around quite a bit last year and talked to a lot of vendors and they were just thrilled with the turnout and thought the atmosphere was very festive and everybody had nothing but positive things to say.”
After the success of last year’s Merry & Bright Christmas Market, it is expanding to feature three indoor shopping areas versus one last year, as well as outside areas to shop. The market will be at Central Christian Church in Queen Creek, located at 22505 E. Ocotillo Road. It will open at 10 a.m and close at 2 p.m. on Nov 26, Small Business Saturday.
