The Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg, Kentucky held its first ever Christmas Market to kick off the holiday season.

About 30 vendors and food trucks were available for visitors to the village on Saturday, Nov. 16. After paying for an admission ticket, visitors were also given 20% off in the Shaker Village gift shops for the event.

“It’s something that we thought would be fun to start off the Christmas season,” Kristen Flick, vice president of hospitality for Shaker Village said.

According to Flick, Shaker Village has “3,000 acres of discovery” holding historical buildings, exhibits, hiking trails and other activities where the one of the largest Shaker communities in the country resided.

The Shakers were a Protestant denomination that settled in the US during the 18th century, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

Flick said Shaker Village was in the process of being decorated with holiday lights that would be turned on later that night with the help of volunteers who were also given access to the market. 

Andrew and Madison Tyma visited the market with their 2-year-old child after learning about the event on the village’s website.

“We love coming to Shaker Village, so we try to check out what’s going on pretty often,” Madison said. “It’s beautiful here, the drive is beautiful.”

Madison said she bought a Christmas present for a friend’s daughter at the market and enjoyed seeing all of the vendors and the products they were selling.

Andrew said he would like to see the Christmas market again next year for the kid-friendly and interactive events held at Shaker Village.

The Shaker Village shops hold a Christmas Open House at the beginning of December. Flick said the Christmas Market was partly an attempt to get ahead of holiday sales.

“It seems like people are starting their shopping earlier each year,” Flick said. “We didn’t know how many people would actually come … it’s a lot bigger than we anticipated.”

To secure the vendors for the market, Flick said the Shaker Village reached out to local Kentucky businesses who had sold at different events previously held by the village.

“It’s fun when you have a lot of people and a lot of the local artisans have come out with their gifts to sell,” Flick said. “What’s nice about this for people is that they can enjoy different things you’re not gonna find in a big box store.”

Vendors at the market sold a variety of items like bars of chocolate made in Berea, bowls and platters made out of wood found in Shaker Village and Mercer County, jewelry made out of broken china, and weaved baskets. They were set up around a Christmas tree and two fire pits with Christmas music played from speakers.

Carole Bognar, one of the vendors at the market, sold “functional gourd pottery” in the form of bowls and other decorative items.

Bognar said she thought turnout to the event was promising for a successful market.

“It was a little chilly today, but that kind of added to the atmosphere,” Bognar said. “This is kind of a take on European Christmas markets, I think they (visitors) like that aspect of it.”

Bognar said she had seen Christmas markets before in Europe and loved the festive atmosphere, she said she is excited whenever one is held in Kentucky.

James Harrison and Stephanie Flout-Harrison came to the market to see both the vendors and Shaker Village.

Flout-Harrison said she was looking for things to do in and around Lexington and had been to Shaker Village before. She and Harrison had never been to a Christmas market before, so they decided to go with some friends.

Harrison said he enjoyed the architecture of the buildings which date back to the 1800’s and the view around the area.

“It’s a neat little part of American history that I definitely didn’t learn about in school,” Harrison said.