Whitewater Times

Chamber Announces Holiday Open House & Market will Return to Fort Atkinson the first weekend in December, along with Santa Bike Ride, Food Cart Festival, and More Gear up for a big weekend in Fort!

The return of the annual Holiday Open House and Market on the first weekend in December will once again turn Fort Atkinson from just another pretty town into a joyful wonderland. New this year are the additions of a “Santa Bike Ride” and a food cart festival, both happening December 3. There will be plenty of additional festive activities for folks to enjoy that day including horse and carriage rides, trolley rides, live music, strolling carolers, and a “Traveling Red Box” giveaway, taking place on both Friday, December 2 and Saturday, December 3, with a grand prize worth over $1,000.

Additionally, many area businesses will be taking part in the “Merchants Making a Difference” program, giving a portion of their December 3 proceeds back to support Trudy’s Room, a program through First United Methodist Church of Fort Atkinson that is “dedicated to fostering the well-being of infants and young children by facilitating the donation, collection and distribution of furniture, clothing, diapers and other basic supplies to families while assisting them to achieve economic independence.”Over sixty arts and crafts vendors will be part of the Dec. 3 holiday market taking place at various locations around town from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. 

The holiday market is an extension of the Farmer’s Market program and was coordinated by Farmer’s Market Manager, Haley Kessler. Kessler promises shoppers will not be disappointed by the selection of unique handcrafted gifts, and says, “It's the perfect day to get all your Christmas shopping done!" Locations that will be hosting vendors include:Luther Elementary School, 205 Park St (20 arts and crafts vendors)First Congregational Church, 31 Milwaukee Ave W (15 arts and crafts vendors)- has a bake sale Methodist Church, 320 S Main St (12 arts and crafts vendors)- has a cookie saleEpiscopal Church, 302 Merchants Ave (3 arts and crafts vendors)- has a cookie saleCafé Carpe, 18 S Water St W (3 arts and crafts vendors)Feather Your Nest, 234 S Main St (6 arts and crafts vendors)

Brock’s River Walk Tavern & Grill, 99 S Main St (6 arts and crafts vendors)Arts and Crafts vendors include: Boutique Bagaries, Essential Images Salon/Premier Bakery, SJWHomemade, Spark Spices LLC, 2 Brothers Tradehouse, Broken Fences, TLC Unlimited, Broadway Bakers, Jazzbead, ARTiculations by Bonnie, Just Add Wine Candle Co., Cream City Creations, Doug Jenks Honey, Ryan Ebert LLC, Land + Sea Society, Tumbled by the waves and SICK Art, Twinmade Treasures, Bronze Lantern Designs, Homemadebyhamby, Crafty Crochet, 213 Mercantile, St. John's Community Church Ladies Aid, Catherine Phelan Designs LLC, Midwest Soapery, The Crafty Peddler LLC, Amanda’s Creations, Jelli's Market, ReFind Chic, Wicked Tee's & Transfers, Lamplight Emporium, Wood Street Bakery, 2 Friends And A Blender, Mama Yana's Sweets & Treats, Good Vibez Designs By Payton, Jazzed Up Marshmallows,

 Alecia Guttilla Holistic Consulting, Cozy Couch Decor LLC, Heritage Country Meats, Rubato Pottery, Needlepoint Hmong Motif LLC, Hass Soap Works LLC, THE SALSA MAN'S SALSA, Ness T Makes, Brio Kreations, Fort Johnson Farms, AH Szabo Designs, Accesorios Daisy, Be Warm & Cozy, Christine Gnagi, Fabulous Handmade Boutique, Dorothy Strunz, Nature Turn Pottery, Homemade by Hamby, Stamp it Up, Wood & Wool Gifts, Suds-Delisious, New Age Enterprise, Drews Designs, 

Oaks and Cotton, and more!On both Friday, December 2 and Saturday, December 3 the Traveling Red Box Giveaway will be taking place at various locations throughout town. For folks to have a chance at winning a huge collection of locally donated gifts worth over $1,000, they will need to stop by participating locations on December 2 & 3 (some of these businesses are only open one of the days) and submit an entry form in a Red Box. There are only a limited number of Red Boxes, and those Red Boxes are getting relocated from business to business throughout this two-day event, to make it more exciting and to encourage folks to stop by all the businesses that have signed up to take part in this event.

"Talking to our business owners about donating to Santa's Bag and watching donations coming in has been so heartwarming. Our Chamber of Commerce investors are so generous and collaborative, which will delight some lucky winner on December 3rd." – Shauna Wessely, Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce Executive DirectorParticipating Traveling Red Box locations: 2 Rivers Bicycle and Outdoor, Fort Ace Hardware, American Wholesale Furniture, Badger Bank, Bait Box on the Rock LLC, Beauty and the Bean, Bergey Jewelry and Archery, Blodgett Garden Center, Brickhouse Pizzeria & Pub, Brock's River Walk Tavern & Grill, Capputan LLC, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson in Ft. Atkinson, Crimson Salon & Spa, Culver's, Dwight Foster Public Library (Fort Atkinson), Eby Family Dental, Faces on Main w/ Rock Paper Scissors Styling Lounge, Fort Atkinson Community Credit Union, 

Gallery on the Main LLC, Gel Nails, Good2Go Fort, Great Clips, Hometown Pharmacy, JM Carpets - Flooring Design Center, Jones Market, Krueger Jeweler, LSM Chiropractic,UScellular - MK Cellular, Paddy Coughlin's Pub, Pick n' Save, Premier Bank, Robin's Nest (Fort Atkinson), Rock River Wellness, Salty Buffalo Trading Co, Sarahndipity Salon LLC, Tuttle's Hallmark, Verlo Mattress,Local businesses that donated to Santa's Bag for the Traveling Red Box event include: Blodgett Garden Center, Faces on Main, Gallery on the Main, Krueger Jeweler, REVIVAL ROOM Massage Therapy, 

Warm Belly Farm, Amanda Reed Skin Care LLC, Bait Box on the Rock, The Edgewater Supper Club, Whitewater Aquatic & Fitness Center, ACE Hardware, American Wholesale Furniture,Beauty & the Bean, Bridge Event Venue, Empowered Training & Wellness, Hippychick Penny's Soaps & Body Care, Humphrey Floral LLC, Kaleidoscope Fibers LLC, Mary Kay Products from Tami Cloute, mkCellular, Paddy Coughlin’s Pub, Robin’s Nest Salon, Rock Paper Scissors Styling Lounge, SJWHomemade, Suds-delisious LLC, Tuttle's Hallmark.Taking place for the first time in Fort will be a festive, family friendly winter “Santa Bike Ride” through town. 

This event has been coordinated by the Fort Atkinson Tourism Department with support from John Raub of 2 Rivers Bicycle and Outdoor and Jake Newborn of Wisconsin Bike Fed. Folks are encouraged to dress up in their most festive holiday attire (Santa suits, Santa hats, reindeer antlers, etc.) and go for a leisurely midday ride through town! To participate, gather at the MATC parking lot (827 Banker Rd, Fort Atkinson) at 1:00 pm on December 3.Riders will take off around 1:30 on an approximate 45-60 minute guided, marked tour through town, and end at the Farmer's Market area where food trucks will be waiting (from 2:30-6:30).

 Food vendors will be located on Merchants Ave by the library; those participating in the Food Truck Festival include Bocadillos, SweetSpot, and La Chucheria. Food and companionship can be enjoyed in the Market Square parking lot.Bike riders can then return to MATC at their own pace. This event is free. While registration is not required for this event, participants may indicate interest or ask questions by contacting Tourism Manager Holly Tierney at tourism@fortchamber.com. Additionally, volunteers are still needed for the bike ride. 

Contact Holly to help out while having fun!Other fun events the Chamber has coordinated for December 3 include horse and carriage rides (from 9AM-noon at St Peter's Episcopal Church), free trolley rides to the Market locations, strolling carolers, and plenty of live music to keep a spring in the step of market shoppers.The musical line up is as follows:Mike McClain 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM – Congregational Church sponsored by Paddy Coughlin's Pub, Paddy's Paws & 10-62 SaloonJason Thomas Band 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM – Luther Elementary sponsored by BKS DentalBahama Bob 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM – Café Carpe sponsored by Crimson Salon & SpaTrinity Lutheran Church Choir- 11AM-noon- Methodist ChurchAd Hoc Trio 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM – Methodist Church sponsored by Blodgett and Hometown Pharmacy.Our strolling carolers are sponsored by Festival, Paddy Coughlin's Pub, Paddy's Paws & 10-62 SaloonIf folks are interested in sponsoring a musical act or other activities and events on December 3, the Chamber would love the support. Contact director@fortchamber.com to learn more. 

Original source can be found here.