“Gadsden County needs more packed weekends,” said Jane W. Clark, President of the West Gadsden Historical Society – the organization that hosted Greensboro’s annual Christmas Bazaar.
Clark was referring to the fact that the weekend the bazaar was held, both Quincy and Chattahoochee also held community-wide Christmas festivities – something that Clark only saw as a benefit to Gadsden County as a whole.
On the morning of Saturday, December 4, the Christmas Bazaar welcomed vendors and musicians to the historic Greensboro Depot, and at 10 a.m., the bazaar opened to guests, shoppers, and eager children who lined up to meet Santa Claus, who arrived in the back of a bright red pickup truck in true ‘Country Santa’ fashion.
Santa (Allen Clark) and his elves (Walker, Waylon, Scarlet and Tracy Johnson) greeted the children who arrived to whisper their Christmas lists in Santa’s listening ear, and each child was offered a candy cane by the elves.
Meanwhile, adults browsed the goods that the bazaar’s eight vendors offered – from locally sourced honey and wax candles, to hand painted oyster-shell ornaments.
Clark says that technically, the 2021 Christmas Bazaar had fewer vendors than the first bazaar, held in 2019 (the historical society skipped 2020’s bazaar, out of caution for the Coronavirus).
Clark says some of the bazaar’s first-year vendors decided to set up booths at the events held in Quincy or Chattahoochee – but Clark says she’s glad the weekend was full of opportunities for local craftspeople and small business owners.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Clark said. “I’m happy Gadsden County is successful.”
The eight vendors who set up booths at the bazaar had a flood of people come through, anyway; Clark estimates that the Christmas Bazaar served over 200 people in the four hours it was open.
The majority of the visitors were families with children, as Clark says Santa was by-far the most popular attraction of the event.
“We had a lot of kids come out to see Santa Claus,” Clark says – although she adds that the historical society also sold out of brunswick stew, which they had cooked up and sold from their own vendor booth during the event.
“I think that for Gadsden County, all of the events are successes,” concluded Clark. “[The events] brought the county together, and I am all about bringing the community together – so thank you, Gadsden County, for your support.”
For more information about the West Gadsden Historical Society and upcoming events in Greensboro, contact Jane W. Clark at (850) 442-6667 or email at gadsdenhistory.org@gmail.com
Ashley Hunter – editor@prioritynews.net
