Batavia Winterfest Art Market offers chance for some early holiday shopping

Visitors to downtown Batavia over the weekend got a head start on their holiday shopping as the Batavia MainStreet group and Water Street Studios offered their annual Winterfest Art Market, a three-day holiday shopping experience that included over two dozen art vendors, food, music and more.

The event kicked off Friday and ran through Sunday and spanned Water Street Studios and nearby Kiss the Sky record store, with 13 additional vendors across the street at 139 First St., organizers said.

Lindsay Luker of Geneva on Saturday did some shopping at the market.

“I’m shopping for a friend. This is for someone else, but I’ll probably get something for myself before this is over,” Luker said as she bought a piece of jewelry at the event. “I’ve come to this market four times and I keep coming back. This place is magical and there’s so much creativity here and so much community.”

Beth Walker, executive director of Batavia MainStreet, said the collaboration between MainStreet and Water Street Studios on the market started in 2018.

“We both used to hold separate winter markets,” Walker said. “Ours was more artisan and there’s was more art-based, but we just joined forces and it’s been going on since then.”

This year, 13 additional vendors were added to the market at the newly-renovated 139 First St. site.

Music was provided by Kiss the Sky at the event while food was again provided by food trucks which Walker said replaced indoor food vendors “a few years ago.”

A total of 1,500 to 2,000 shoppers were expected to attend throughout the weekend.

Saturday’s crowd wasted no time hitting the site to do some shopping.

Sue Wulff of Batavia dropped by Water Street Studios “looking for a little bit of everything”

“I love art. I’m a wannabe artist, but I’m really not an artist,” she said. “I love pottery.”

Ellen McCue from Batavia said she has visited the market before and admitted she “was in search of anything and everything.”

“I’m looking for gifts. I’m part of the pre-Christmas shopping club,” she said. “I know there are people in and out in 10 minutes but that won’t be us. We’re going to make at least a morning of it.

“I’ll be happy if I can find gifts for friends,” she said. “I always start shopping around this time. I like this collection of artists because it’s unique. That’s what we look for. You don’t want the same old, same old.”

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.