The signs of another great Christmas Market in Downtown Arcadia this Saturday evening, Dec. 14, are all over town, literally.
The City of Arcadia on Wednesday placed sign trailers on eastbound Huntington Drive by Arcadia Park near Santa Clara Avenue and on southbound Santa Anita Avenue just north of Wheeler Avenue. Each trailer sign cycles through three pages of large lighted letters reading Christmas Street Market N. First Ave Saturday 9-5. The City is also adding holiday decorations an lights on the street north of Huntington Drive this week.
The market, featuring dozens of food and gift vendors amidst a traditional Christmas atmosphere of live music, colored lights in trees, falling snow, inflatable jumpers, and Santa Claus, is also trumpeted on a 15-foot banner hung on the Renken Building on the northwest corner of Huntington Drive and First Avenue, which can be seen by pedestrians moving in almost all directions. The banner is at the south end of the market that runs on First Avenue which is closed from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. on the block between Huntington Drive and Wheeler Avenue.
The banner also publicizes primary sponsor Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority, as well as sponsor Forest Lawn, and additional supporter City of Arcadia, Matt Denny’s Ale House Restaurant, Bacani-Taylor NAI Capital, Attorney at Law April A. Verlato, and Arcadia Downtown Business Assocation.
Arcadia Weekly ran another lengthy story about the market this week and included a photo of carolers at the Gold Line booth. And Arcacdia Patch has a full story listed in its events calendar again this week along with multiple photos of last week’s event. Of course, Arcadia’s Best offers complete coverage, as always.
Among the new additions to the second of the three-week of Arcadia’s Best Downtown Christmas Market will be many new vendors, including kettle corn by Jake’s Roadhouse; coffee, pastries, and whole bean and espresso drinks by Taza: A Social Coffee House; as well as booths featuring other services offered in the downtown area such as Dr. Richard Sayegh’s massage therapy and chiropractic center; MoveYour Mountain Fitness; Dentist Dr. Hanfu Lee; and the Hecha de Mano store of Mayan cultural artwork.
Twisted Potato
New food additions popular at the 626 Night Markets and the weekly Monrovia Family Fun Festivals will be the Mister Potato vendor offering a fun-looking and great-tasting deep fried “Twisted Potato” cut in a swirl and served on a stick or even a hot dog on a stick in one of five flavors: Korean BBQ, Sweet chili, Garlic butter, Cheddar cheese, or Cinnamon sugar; and The Phantom Food truck‘s Peking Duck wraps and Peking Duck fries (roasted duck and hoisin sauce), JuDu pork belly and chili pepper wrap, Duck Melt, as well as its curry chicken wrap, and “Black Fury” flank steak and pepper wrap.
Also new this week will be the appearance of Santa Claus alternately wandering the event and sitting to allow families to take photos with him,
Attendees of the first of three weekly events last Saturday produced by Family Festival Productions enjoyed a thriving farmer’s market and a plethora of more than 40 food and merchandise vendors in a traditional holiday atmosphere filled with live music, beautiful colored lights on palm trees and images of projected snowflakes, inflatable jumpers for kids, and blowing snow.
Special gifts from jewelers, spas, and salons on First Avenue and Huntington Drive, such as Spa Xanadu will also be available, as will gift book collections from The Book Rack, cinammon-spiced hot apple cider from VJ’s Auto Service, and plenty of other delicious food and drinks. Shops on the block including Robusto Cigars, 1st Avenue Salon, and Arcadia Shoe Repair will remain open during the event.
The Christmas Market, presented by the non-profit Arcadia’s Best Foundation, is patterned after the centuries-old annual Christmas Markets in Europe and will showcase the plethora of services available within walking distance in Downtown Arcadia, all of which continue to be open for business during construction of the much-anticipated Gold Line light rail line to be ready for riders in 2016.
Plenty of free parking is available in several public lots off of Wheeler Avenue east and west of First Ave. Attendees should enter Wheeler from Santa Anita Ave.
— By Scott Hettrick