Ann Arbor residents and University of Michigan students alike sipped mulled wine, enjoyed live music and watched a live ice sculpture carving of the Ann Arbor skyline Friday night as the city marked the start of the holiday season with four concurrent outdoor events: Kindlefest, Midnight Madness, Moonlight Madness and the Liberty Plaza Holiday Gift Market.
KindleFest, which occurs annually in the Ann Arbor Farmers Market location, is inspired by the German tradition of Christkindlmarkt, or Christmas markets. German Christmas markets normally last about a month and allow people to purchase Christmas presents and other wares from local artisans.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, KindleFest organizer Karen Farmer said though the market had a hard time recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic, it is back to its usual state this year. Featuring vendors with holiday wares, food trucks, fires for roasting marshmallows and performances from three local groups, Farmer said she looks forward to the market’s variety of music and food offerings this year.
“One thing that I like about this year compared to years past is that we have a lot more food offerings, and we have three different types of music that’s happening,” Farmer said. “I think the music element of what we’re doing at KindleFest is a little different but really cool. In the past, we’ve had maybe three food vendors, and we have six this time. They’re all local businesses, so we’re super excited about that.”
German lecturer Vera Irwin, who used to live in Germany, told The Daily she comes to KindleFest year after year because it reminds her of the sense of community provided by Christkindlmarkt in Germany.
“(In Germany), you meet people in (the Christkindlmarkt) and meet friends there,” Irwin said. “It’s where colleagues go after work every day for a month. So it becomes part of our daily routine: You stop by, get a waffle (and) listen to a concert. And we miss that part of public life here in the United States.”
This year, KindleFest ran in conjunction with the Liberty Plaza Holiday Gift Market, which was first organized by Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation in 2022. Jessica Black, recreation supervisor for Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation and organizer of Liberty Plaza Market, said the Liberty Plaza Market is intended to be a small, intimate and local shopping experience for Ann Arbor residents.
“My main goal in organizing the market is to provide an experience for the public and the vendors that is festive and positive and welcoming,” Black said.
Black explained that because Liberty Plaza is located between State and Main Streets — both lively streets for shopping — they decided to hold the Liberty Plaza Market on the same night as all of the city’s other holiday markets to provide a complete experience for shoppers. In order to promote connectivity between the various markets, Black said they worked with Boober Tours, an Ann Arbor pedicab service, to provide free pedicab rides between Liberty Plaza and the Farmers Market, where Kindlefest took place.
Liberty Plaza hosted about 20 local vendors selling various wares, ranging from soy candles and cookie tin jewelry to pinecone bird feeders. Lori Tursak, who owns the small business Loreo’s, vended at the market to sell a variety of chocolates, including dipped Oreos, pretzels, marshmallows and more. Tursak, who participated in KindleFest before the pandemic, told The Daily she jumped at the opportunity to participate at the Liberty Plaza Market.
“(The experience) has been very positive,” Tursak said. “There’s been a lot of people. It’s just a wonderful, wonderful market. I hope they continue to do it.”
While residents purchased small wares at Liberty Plaza, Midnight Madness was run concurrently on Main Street. Throughout the day, various shops on Main Street provided discounts as local performers provided live music for shoppers.
Vicki Joling, executive director of the Main Street Area Association, told The Daily that Midnight Madness provides a festive atmosphere to promote businesses on Main Street.
“My job is really ensuring that the downtown businesses, specifically in the Main Street District, always feel supported,” Joling said. “We try to find creative and fun ways to get people to patronize their businesses. What I want is for (shoppers) to get excited about (Midnight Madness) and enjoy the experience while they’re downtown.”
Businesses along State Street offered discounts in celebration of Moonlight Madness, a similar market located in the State Street District, which featured live music and ice carving. Randy Finch, founder of the Grand Rapids-based ice-sculpting company Ice Guru Entertainment, said the ice sculpture he and a colleague created was inspired by landmarks around Ann Arbor.
“(The event organizers) pitched around different ideas, and they wanted something that kind of represented Ann Arbor,” Finch said. “So we took some of the iconic buildings and things like that and made a faux silhouette and kind of stacked it.”
In an interview with The Daily before the market opened, Angela Heflin, executive director of the State Street District, said she appreciates the community aspect of Moonlight Madness.
“There’s so many people and organizations that come together, and it’s such a community in downtown Ann Arbor,” Heflin said. “It’s really fun to plan and implement events like this that highlight fun, festive things at this time of year.”
Daily Staff reporter Abigail VanderMolen and Daily News Contributor Anna Jerolimov can be reached at vabigail@umich.edu and annajero@umich.edu.