GRAND RAPIDS, MICH — It's beginning to look a little more like Christmas in downtown Grand Rapids on Friday, November 17th with the kick-off of the European-inspired Christkindl Markt at the Downtown Market.
Showcasing 35 stalls selling handmade gifts, food, beer, and family-friendly entertainment, the market is hoping to bring a taste of some international winter wonderland to West Michigan.
"I'm most excited to see all of the people come and enjoy, we put a lot of hard work in making sure that this is going to be something for everyone," Karen Carpenter, general manager of the Markt told FOX17. "So you can come and visit with Santa on the weekends and enjoy a storytime with Mrs. Claus and maybe write them a letter. But then we also have wonderful entertainment on our stage. We've great community partners with the Grand Rapids Art Museum and the Children's Museum and the grown-ups at Symphony so we really have a lot to see and do and then also we have a lot of things to eat and a lot of places to shop so we there's a little something for everyone."
And, if that 'little something' includes libations then Jason Spaulding, the CEO and owner of Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids has you covered.
"We're going to debut a brand new beer to German style. It's called a Dunkelweizen. So it's a little bit darker of a wheat beer," Spaulding said. "So it's a traditional style they make in Munich. It's the darker flavors are like kind of toffee, and caramel. And in the yeast that we use actually creates this kind of real nice banana clove accent to it. So it all kind of comes together. It's like a perfect fall beer."
The Markt will be open Wednesdays through Sundays until December 23rd, you can find a full list of the vendors and schedule of events here.
