Mpls. will host Holidazzle Village and market

Live reindeer, a Christmas market, choir performances and storytelling are coming to Nicollet Mall this holiday season to replace the Holidazzle parade.

Downtown business leaders unveiled more details Thursday about the Holidazzle Village, which will transform the mall from 10th to 12th Streets into a weekend event space and daily marketplace.

The centerpiece of the event, a daily Minneapolis Christmas Market, will be located in Peavey Plaza and cost between $3 and $6 to enter. The Village is free.

The Holidazzle parade, a 22-year holiday tradition featuring fairy tale floats and costumed characters, marched through downtown for the last time in 2013.

"The idea is to really have a constant activity at Peavey Plaza during that entire period between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve," Downtown Council President Steve Cramer said. "And then on weekends have even more things for people to do. So you come to the market, and you do other things with your kids."

The Christmas Market will feature several dozen huts selling candy, mulled wine, holiday trinkets and food — as well as a tree-lighting ceremony. It is based on similar European markets found in Chicago and elsewhere around the world. The market will also feature international days celebrating Minneapolis' diverse ethnic traditions, the council said in a statement.

The event will run from Nov. 28 to Dec. 24. The market will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day. The Village has more limited hours, running just on weekends and the Friday after Thanksgiving from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

"I like the fact that we're moving away from events that kind of pass you by and moving toward these experiential concepts where you kind of interact with the activity," said Minneapolis Council Member Jacob Frey, citing the annual overnight Northern Spark event as another example.

Frey added, however, that the "Christmas" branding on the market is problematic — particularly given the public money involved. "We've got a city with a wide range of religions, and I certainly don't want to exclude anyone," said Frey, who is Jewish.

Charging an entrance fee — which permits entry for the entire season — to enter the market is a departure from the Holidazzle parade, which was free to the public. The Christkindlmarket in Chicago has no admission fee.

Cramer said the fee will help recoup some of the $400,000 being invested by Vancouver-based FestKreations to create the market. Private vendors and about $80,000 in private sponsorships will also contribute toward the market's $1 million total cost.

"[The admission fee] is one of the revenue sources to operate the market," Cramer said. "So that is different from the parade, but it's also a pretty substantially different experience from the parade once you're in the market."

"The more we can raise there, the more robust the programming in the Village can be," Cramer said.

Council Member Andrew Johnson, who voted against the city support, said many other events around the city do not need public help.

"If you look at our budget, essentially we are two operators short of meeting the standards around our 911 operators," Johnson said. "Yet there's a proposal for $400,000 next year to go to this event as well. I just think it's not a core service of the city."

Eric Roper • 612-673-1732

Twitter: @StribRoper