Dayton’s Holiday Market draws crowds downtown five years on

A record number of vendors and shoppers got into the holiday spirit for this year’s Dayton’s Holiday Market.

Hundreds of people wandered the market in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday morning as Christmas music jingled through ceiling speakers. The smell of roasted almonds and popovers from the Oak Grill wafted through the aisles as children hollered and parents peered through red and green garlands.

This year is the fifth edition of the Dayton’s Holiday Market inside the remodeled Dayton’s Project building in the heart of downtown, and organizers say it’s the biggest market yet. It’s open daily, except for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, for the next month.

As businesses fight to revive retail sales downtown, city officials say the market has become an anchor for shoppers and winter events around Minneapolis.

“There’s been this narrative that retail has declined downtown for quite a while. It even predates the pandemic,” said Adam Duininck, CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council. “At times it was due to declining sales. At times it was due to the fact that Amazon and other retailers like Walmart and Target and larger retailers were able to compete in a different way.”

As Minneapolis shuts down Holidazzle and pivots to "Winterapolis" events, Courtney Ries with Meet Minneapolis said Dayton’s Holiday Market has become an touchstone for craft businesses and events happening across Minneapolis.

“It’s harder to get us out of our hibernation during the colder months,” Ries said. “Winter is an asset to Minneapolis, and we’re hopeful that this collective effort can help remind people of that.

The stars could align for that wintry weather. Forecasts now predict an icy mix through Thanksgiving weekend that could end with heavy snow.

Last year, organizers said the market earned $2 million dollars within 40 days, attracting about 200,000 people downtown.

Mich Berthiaume, the founder and curator of the Dayton’s Holiday Market, started planning for the market in January, driving to apple orchards, church bazaars and other markets to recruit 107 vendors.

She said the record number of vendors is driving sales that are “substantially financially up from last year.”

Berthiaume attributes a lot of that to nostalgia, which brings crowds to their doors at 4 a.m. on Black Friday.

Nostalgia was front of mind for business owner Jake Sanders, who designed the 40-year anniversary celebration for Santabear. Sanders remembers shopping at Dayton’s and meeting his wife there in his youth, and he said focusing on such memories helps to build community.

Few can understand that better than sisters-in-law Carol Stark, Mary Nosek and Katharine Richter. Stopping for pictures under the historic JB Hudson Jewelers entrance, the sisters shared memories of the jewelry store and of Dayton’s holiday displays.

“It was famous in the Twin Cities. You’d come every year with your kids,” Nosek said, recalling a visit to Dayton’s decades before. “With COVID and all of George Floyd, incidents have made people hesitant about coming downtown, which is a shame. It’s beautiful downtown.”