On the heels of two annual runs of the "Sundays on State" outdoor street festival came an indoor endeavor (also in the Chicago Loop area), utilizing the space that once housed the discount designer shoe outlet, DSW. The State Street Holiday Market continued the mission of revitalizing the economy in the Chicago Loop District, post-COVID, spearheaded by the Chicago Loop Alliance.
On the street level, there were varied holiday Instagram moments. This was intermingled with live DJs, gospel chorales, street dancers and other live performance art. This set the stage to draw in the casual passerby through a subterranean landscape of artisans and vendors. Both standard and unique holiday gift options were available from a range of smaller businesses and sole proprietors.
I enjoyed displaying my wares, with a rotating slide show on a freestanding monitor, representing in my absence (stretching myself between gigs). I would also run a continuous line of clear fishing line through the arm and neckhole of a few of my t-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies, folded and displayed unassumingly on my vendor table. If my fellow vendors were otherwise occupied with customers, my goods could not go undisturbed without causing a calamitous commotion!
The State Street Holiday Market was a great prequal to the oncoming Chicago winter. It extended the summer festivities of Sundays on State into the holiday season, all the while helping pump life back into the Loop District post-COVID.
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