Christmas Market - 20th November 2004
The Royal Burgh of Lanark celebrated the start of the Festive Season with a Continental-style Christmas Market.
53 stallholders and around 8,000 locals and visitors braved fresh - nae freezing conditions to kick off the start of the festive shopping season. Stallholders and local retailers rang up bumper sales and shoppers enjoyed browsing through the wide choice of Christmas gifts and traditional fayre.
But there's no doubt that the highlight of the day was the welcoming of a special visitor. Santa arrived to cheers of delight from young and old alike and the crowd cheered when the Lanimer Queen switched on the Christmas lights.
Building on the success of last year's Christmas Fair which also attracted some 8,000 people, the Business Group has developed the event further and local retailers, restauranteurs and accomodation providers worked together to stage this exciting event.
Make sure you put this event in your diary for next year. Bring the whole family and make a day of it.
| 
The success of the last two years of this event has buoyed the local retailers to work together to promote their town and business community.
These special festive events have heralded the start of a drive to encourage greater numbers of visitors to this Medieval Market Town and raise the profile of this Royal Burgh.
|
| More news about the Christmas Market
Lanark's 2004 continental-style Christmas Market featured more than 50 stalls (much larger than last year) and sold crafts from as far away as
America, Russia, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary to Inverness, Fort William, Argyllshire and Northumbria.
There were number of stalls selling jewellery, including sterling
silver and semi-precious stones, items made by one of the country's leading
craft jewellers (from Aberdeen), and contemporary costume and bridal
jewellery, including tiaras and hair accessories, all made by a craft
jeweller in Abington.
There were American folk-art crafts; hand-made decorative and
functional pottery, again made locally; a range of confectionary including tablet, sweets, and Belgian chocolates; hand-made soaps and body products; several stalls feature decorative, hand painted glassware; locally made willow baskets; candles and pot pourri; hand-made Christmas cards; books; framed photos of old Lanark; fruit wines, meads and liquers; a selection of venison and game; hand quilted cushions and baby quilts; gift wrapped baskets; wood crafts; knitted dolls' jointed teddy bears; ceramic dolls; home-made jams and chutneys; cheeses; original art works by local artists; hand-made enamelware; hand-made and hand-painted Tiffany-style plant and window decorations; wooden and soft toys; faux suede and faux fur cushions
and throws; Xmas novelties.
There was also a raffle to win a brand new Renault Clio.
The stalls were selling from 9.30 am to 5pm.congratulations to the stallholders and organisers for their tenacity. Some were there from 5am!
Entertainment was provided both morning and afternoon from local choirs, bands and instrumentalists. There are plans to bring more diverse street entertainment next year.
Friends of Guiding had a face painting stall.
|
|
| 
Christmas Fayre by Billy Quigley, Lanark
|
|
|
