Over 100 producers and creators open at the Winterval Christmas Market
The Winterval market. Photo: Patrick Browne
Winterval in Waterford is now officially open every weekend until December 23rd.
The festival has over 50 events on offer, including the vast Glenveagh Christmas Market, and this year over 100 food, craft and drinks producers and creators feature across the festival.
The Glenveagh Christmas Market at Winterval is set out in a series of wooden cabins through the spine of Ireland’s oldest city into the cultural quarter, spanning the Viking city from George’s Street to Hanover Street and onto O’Connell Street and Gladstone Street, all in the midst of the Winterval family fun attractions.
There is food and drinks from Rom’s Crepes, Natural Gourmet Foods, Huckleberry Churros, and Sapana’s Kitchen, plus a range of creations and gift options from Copper Coast Arts & Crafts, Jayne Cahill Designs, Avoito Knitwear, Butterbox pet gifts and more.
In addition, at the Waterford Cultural Quarter Crafts Market, also on Hanover Street, there is a wide variety of crafts and treats, from woollen products to wood carvings, paintings to driftwood creations and jewellery all produced by a range of diverse cultures, including African, Polish, German, Ukraine, Bulgarian creators.
At Garter Lane Arts Centre, the Waterford Crafts Market is back for their 39th annual Christmas Craft Fair taking place in the main gallery space. The market features over 40 individual members who produce a range of crafts from jewellery, art, candles, ceramics, soaps and lotions, leather ware, knitted ware, wood turning and much more.
The festival officially began on November 15 at 6pm and a super-sized offering of festivities got underway when the Mayor of Waterford City and County, Councillor Jason Murphy, and, of course, Santa Claus arrived to switch on the Christmas lights at the city at a fun-filled ceremony at John Roberts Square as they then declared the festival open.
There are over 50 events and over half are free of charge, some of the free events on the programme include a magical Glow garden, a Viking Elf trail hunt, a Viking Yule Village by Déise Medieval, storytelling sessions with Kitty Caboodle, a roaming 'Old World group of carolers', a free music stage, a model circus and fairground exhibition, and lots more.
