Wed. November 12, 2008
F Street sidewalk transformed for annual Holiday Market
(Washington, DC) – The much anticipated fourth-annual Downtown Holiday Market produced by the Downtown DC Business Improvement District in partnership with Diverse Markets Management is poised to return to Downtown DC, bringing a unique outdoor shopping experience to the heart of the center city. From Friday, December 5 – Tuesday, December 23, a festive atmosphere and live musical entertainment will enliven the charming marketplace featuring more than 50 exhibitors and artisans selling a diverse array of high-quality gift items including fine art, crafts, jewelry, pottery, photography, clothing and prepared food items. The market will be open daily from Noon to 8:00 pm on the sidewalk of F Street, NW between 7th & 9th streets, in front of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery.
Gift items of exceptional quality can always be discovered at the Market. Discerning patrons this year also may choose the Downtown Holiday Market because they wish to shop sustainably. Local merchants will offer hand-made and fair-trade items, many at budget-conscious prices. The Market is public transit accessible by Metrorail, Downtown Circulator, Metrobus and SmartBbikes are located on-site. Generators running on bio-diesel fuel power the Market, and publicity materials are printed on 100% post consumer waste recycled materials. Recycling cans are available at the site, and the market features several eco-friendly exhibitors offering ready-to-eat foods, apparel, home decorating gift items and more.
A wide range of live, local musicians and bands is sure to entertain with festive tunes from all genres for shoppers. Jazz, swing, blues, reggae, bluegrass, klezmer, a cappella, brass and more are all on the schedule, creating a fun, welcoming atmosphere for shoppers as they browse the treasure laden tables.
“The 2008 Downtown Holiday Market continues to showcase Downtown’s renaissance and provides workers, local and regional residents and visitors with a vibrant holiday experience in the heart of Washington, DC,” says Richard H. Bradley, executive director of the Downtown BID. “Patrons can come from work, on their way to a Verizon Center event, or before going to dinner—it’s a fun, exciting place to spend time and shop.”
Last year’s event drew more than 150,000 shoppers to Downtown over 17 days. This year’s expanded calendar features 150 artists and exhibitors rotating through the Market, including several food and beverage vendors offering a variety of interesting savory, sweet and seasonal treats. Because exhibitors rotate, patrons should be sure to visit often, they will never have the same experience twice.
Michael Berman, executive director of Diverse Markets Management and co-producer of the Market said, ”The Downtown Holiday Market continues to show that Downtown DC is a dynamic place to be. The local artisan community enthusiastically participates in this event and patrons are delighted to encounter these high-quality specialty goods. The decorative, cheerful European-style marketplace is a feast for the senses. There is something for everyone at the Market.”
The Downtown Holiday Market presents a viable business opportunity for local talent. Of the 150 artisan-exhibitors rotating through the Market this year, 25% of them are DC residents, and 95% are from the greater Washington area.
Downtown Holiday Market media partners include: WAMU 88.5 American University Radio, The Washington Examiner and 97.1 WASH FM. For a complete exhibitor listing and entertainment schedule, pick up a copy of the Market Guide available in the Friday, December 5, issue of The Washington Examiner or visit www.downtownholidaymarket.com. Sponsors of the market include Verizon Wireless and The New York Times.
The Downtown BID produces the Downtown Holiday Market in partnership with Diverse Markets Management
About the Downtown DC Business Improvement District
The Downtown DC Business Improvement District (BID) is a private, non-profit organization that provides safety, hospitality, maintenance and beautification, homeless, economic development, transportation, streetscape and marketing services to Washington’s center city. Property owners agree to tax themselves to provide services to the Downtown BID area, which covers 140 blocks from Massachusetts Avenue on the north to the National Mall on the south, from Louisiana Avenue on the east to the White House on the west. For more information, visit www.downtowndc.org.
About Diverse Markets Management
Diverse Markets Management (DMM), LLC is a DC-based firm specializing in the development and management of outdoor public exhibitor markets. Principals in the firm are experienced leaders in specialty vending and in managing relations with this unique group of small business entrepreneurs. Members of the DMM team have an experienced and successful history of working together on markets, especially at historic Eastern Market. Key attributes of the team include the manager of The Flea Market at Eastern Market (FMEM), decades of business activity as exhibitors and managers, as well as long working relationships with other stakeholders of the Market. Because our team has actual investments and livelihoods based on vending and deep roots in the city, we have a particularly personal commitment to a market’s success. We are strongly dedicated to developing and maintaining a financially sustainable market while enhancing the ongoing integration of a market into the community. www.diversemarkets.net
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