Cost for Holiday Market at the Comfy warm, or a/c , clean bathroom easy parking at approx $160 per weekend is great. I am a seasoned road warrior. I don’t knownof any Holiday Markets at minimum under $400 per weekend. We will lose foot traffic. And just a reminder 2017, 2018 it was so cold, windy, rainy and snowed.
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I think it is Worth the extra money to stay inside
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Not sure my vote came through correctly, but I would prefer all indoors while planning to move in and out as needed. If space heaters are out then I suspect that the cold could be a big deterrent to shoppers, and I think moving from one venue to another after just one day would be very confusing. Thanks for checking with us and I hope to be back next year!
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As your booth buddy, we agree with you 100%. Hope to be back next to you again next year! I do miss having our food trucks available but we just order out.
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It’s a hard decision, for sure, but as difficult as the Convention Center made things on us last year, I don’t expect them to be easier to work with next year. That being said, I believe being outdoors would be an even bigger deterrent. I hate the price increase, but it’s still cheaper than most, if not all, indoor holiday venues.
While this was not an option offered, might I suggest increased participation at Collegedale for its two weekends and two weekends at the Convention Center, making it possible for more vendors to participate in both.
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For those worried about their vote – you can only vote once, so if the voting option is present then you didn’t… if it’s gone, then you did!
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As a small vendor, the increase in price will cut into our sales; I realize this market is less than others, but a consideration for us.
We speak to a lot of our regular market customers who still don’t know the Holiday market is at the convention center. The food sucks at the convention center—we would love to have our food vendors present, they are, in my opinion, crucial in helping to make the market a destination. The ability to purchase Christmas trees, wreath, etc. would be AWESOME and make the market more of an event and add to the destination aspect.
We did the market in the evening for the holiday cocktails event which was a purchased ticket for the shoppers—we did well in spite of the cool temps. Mainx24 does well regardless of whether it’s raining or cold; being a part of that celebration on the first weekend makes a lot of sense to me.
All of that being said, I’m for winterizing the pavilion in some way.
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Winter pavilion magentaglassworks
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A lot of good points here…
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we could try to get Christo and Jeanne-Claude
to wrap the Pavilion for us and turn the whole thing into an art extravaganza which would bring the people in from around the world 
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Doesn’t even matter to me. Bring it on. Inside, outside, upside down.
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We’re going to be for the winter pavilion-3 weeks
Rosemary Knoll
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My biggest concern is the customers comfort. I think we would want them hanging out looking and buying if we get a colder than normal winter or even normal I think that could impact the volume of customers and sales. It’s a catch 22. All things being equal I think max sales is the goal. While the wrap would help with the wind it won’t help with the heat. If we rent or buy propane heaters the price increase might be a wash. Also I’m concerned that the number of spots is less than convention center so I may not even get a chance to participate.
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I thought I did but it’s still there. How do you register your vote?
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just select one of the options (click a circle) in the poll
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Christmas markets in Europe are always outside, no matter the weather, beautiful lights add to the atmosphere of an upcoming Holiday Season. I would think that any type of improvement regarding insulating the Pavilion would be a great benefit year around. Maybe the whole place could benefit from a face lift, also regarding the electrical element, Vendors use Heater and Fans in there spaces, so improve the basics. I also agree with some that more seasonal Vendors, Christmas Trees, ornaments, hot liquids, hot food, and maybe a small Carousel for children would be an asset. So my vote goes toward improving the Pavilion
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I vote for indoors convention center.
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First, thank you for the update and for letting us weigh in on the discussion.
I just wanted to say that the pavilion is not an option for me due to the fact that I have a physical condition that prevents me from being out in the cold for extended periods. I wish I could say that I would participate regardless of the location, but I cannot.
While I don’t like the fee increase, the food options, or the possibility of every week set up/break down at the convention center, I can plan for and overcome those obstacles.
Also, I really think that being at the pavilion during inclement weather (also with fewer vendors) will cut down significantly on the customer traffic.
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What about finding another location?
Would Camp Jordan work?
Whatever happened to Hodge Podge on Signal Mountain? It used to get a huge following there? Or— do you think it won’t have the same momentum since the Market quit using it?
Just some ideas
We were vendors at HodgePodge before we ever joined the Market, and I only remember it being managed by the Market one year. The other years it was managed by a group of volunteers. The town council would not allow the event anymore due to traffic issues. I have heard there are efforts in play to overcome those challenges and wish they would as we did extremely well there. Re changing our venue, there are already regular Market customers who don’t know we are in the Convention Center in December. If we go to a completely new place, I think we’d lose a lot of traffic.