PERRY, Ga. — Christmas time is here, well, almost!
But that's not stopping Chairman Lisa Hays from putting on the 18th Annual Mistletoe Market in Perry!
From now until Sunday, Nov. 19th, you can walk into the Miller-Murphy-Howard Building at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and shop over 100 vendors across Central Georgia and the southeast.
They have everything from t-shirts and socks to cute mugs and ornaments to complete your Christmas shopping, and it's all locally sourced!
Hays says it kicks off the holiday season and is an excellent way for the community to come and shop locally.
"It's not just about coming and spending money, it's about being together," Hays said. "Once they come and see for themselves and feel the environment and feel the atmosphere, feel the spirit of community and volunteerism, they want to get in on it too."
Also, sometimes shopping locally can go beyond local.
Macie Blevins is the manager of the family-owned brand Hurricane Marsh, and she and her family came from Missouri to be a vendor at the Mistletoe Market.
"You can definitely tell there's a culture here," Blevins said. "There's a strong sense of community and tradition for people to come all over the place, so it's pretty neat how much this means to people here."
As a small business that's always traveling, Blevins says supporting other small businesses helps exposure on both parts.
"These are the people that made the town what it was, and I always want to support that," Blevins said. "As soon as you start going to the big box stores, you take away from the people that made the town what it was and who they are, and you don't want to take away that culture."
Samantha Nguyen and Jessica Hunt are normally shoppers, but now they're craft vendors that give kids the space to sit down and be creative.
"I think this gives kids the opportunity just to be here and to unplug," Hunt said. "They can paint, have fun, make a memory, and create something that they can have that lasts a lifetime."
Nguyen and Hunt stress the importance of being there for the community.
"There are so many beautiful handmade products that are local too, but then also you have really reputable shops that are selling high-end products as well," Nguyen said. "I might pay a little bit more from somebody that I trust and know than like a big box that I can buy the same product from."
The shoppers were excited to have a weekend to shop locally before the holidays get busy, with Thanksgiving and Black Friday right around the corner.
The Mistletoe Market is from now until this Sunday, Nov. 19th. General admission is $10.