Whether it’s live music, holiday gifts or food trucks, Jingle Fest’s Christmas market at Central Park had it all. Santa Clarita vendors and artisans gathered On Nov. 9, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., to display their homemade goods.
The annual Jingle Fest was started in 2020 by the owner of Strawberry and Fig clothing boutique, Tammy Wheeler: “I started off just selling clothing and crafts as a participant in events 20 years ago.
During the pandemic, however, she decided to start doing these festivals. Wheeler describes,“The first event I organized was a Holiday Boutique five years ago at the Valencia Country Club. There was a line of customers that wrapped around the building, waiting to get in”.
With 275 vendors present at the Jingle Fest, there were 10 rows of tents for shoppers to browse. Some of the goods included crocheted stuffed animals, ceramic trinkets and a wide variety of candles and soaps. Mariah Sumner, a consistent vendor at the event since its creation, started her soap making business, M&M Handmade Soaps, during the pandemic. Now, she has expanded her business to making handmade lotions and body butters. “I’m just really passionate about handmade skincare and clean ingredients for people,” Sumner emphasized. “It really makes a difference and once you try it you [say] ‘oh shoot this is a really big difference’ and I love that.”
There were also vendors selling food, such as toffee, cookies and Keto-friendly desserts. At the back of the event behind all the tents, there were food trucks offering Beignets, Mandu (Korean dumplings) and beverages.
In the center of the event, live music and performances took place on the stage throughout the day. DJ Kasanova performed from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the headliner band DNA from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Dance Studio 84 from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Attendees participated in activities like face painting, having caricatures drawn and taking pictures with their favorite seasonal characters. Santa Claus was available for pictures for a $5 fee, or as a free alternative, attendees could have taken photos with the Grinch who was wandering throughout the event.
Golden Valley High School history teacher Shanna Mann, attended the event with her family. She expressed, “I think these types of events are really unique for our community. We’ve already seen people we know, like kids from my kid’s school [and] coworkers. It’s nice to be out with everyone on a nice day, get some good food, listen to some music [and] shop around a little bit, it’s fun.”
Cats, check out the Jingle Fest website at www.jinglefestscv.com to stay updated with scheduling for next year’s festival.
