Correction: Bahama Bob, will be performing at the Café Carpe between noon and 3 p.m. and the Jason Thomas Band will be performing at Luther Elementary School between 9 a.m. and noon. Earlier copy had the times and locations for the two bands transposed. Copy has been adjusted. Fort Atkinson Online regrets the error.
The Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce has announced that its annual Open House and Holiday Market will be held this weekend.
Activities are scheduled over the course of the two-day event, Friday, Dec. 2, and Saturday Dec. 3.
Activities will include a “Santa Bike Ride,” and a “Food Cart Festival,” both of which are new this year, according to information provided by the chamber. Both events will take place Saturday.
Santa Bike Ride
The Santa Bike Ride event is 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. The event will he held Saturday.
Participants are encouraged to dress in festive clothing. The ride is planned as a leisurely mid-day activity, the release noted. Plans call for participants to gather in advance of the ride in the MATC parking lot, 827 Banker Rd, at 1 p.m. The ride will begin at approximately 1:30 p.m. and is anticipated to last between 45 and 60 minutes. The ride, a guided and marked tour through the city, will end at the Farmers Market, where participants will find food trucks ready to provide refreshments. The trucks are planned to operate from the location between 2:30 and 6:30 p.m.
Registration is not required for the free-of-charge event, according to the release. Those with questions may contact Tourism Manager Holly Tierney by email: tourism@fortchamber.com.
The chamber is still looking for a few volunteers to help with the bike ride, the release noted.
Live music
Returning activities this year include horse-drawn wagon rides, trolley rides, strolling carolers and live music.
A schedule of musical performances is as follows: Mike McClain, who will be preforming at the Congregational Church between 9 a.m. and noon; Jason Thomas Band, which will be performing at Luther Elementary School between 9 a.m. and noon; Bahama Bob, who will be performing at the Café Carpe between noon and 3 p.m., and Ad Hoc Trio, which will be performing at the Methodist Church between noon and 3 p.m. Ad Hoc Trio’s performance is sponsored by BKS Dental.
More than 60 vendors
Participants this year can expect to find more than sixty arts and crafts vendors available Saturday, stationed throughout various locations throughout the community. The vendors will be available to shoppers between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
According to the release, the holiday market is an extension of the Farmers Market in Fort Atkinson and is coordinated by Farmers Market Manager Haley Kessler.
In the release, Kessler said she felt certain that shoppers would be impressed by the selection of unique handcrafted gifts.
Those looking to make purchases from vendors will find them in the following locations: Luther Elementary School, 205 Park St.; First Congregational Church, 31 Milwaukee Ave. W.; the Methodist Church, 320 S. Main St.; the Episcopal Church, 302 Merchants Ave.; Café Carpe, 18 S. Water St. W.; Feather Your Nest, 234 S. Main St. and Brock’s River Walk Tavern and Grill, 99 S. Main St.
Traveling Red Box
A “Traveling Red Box” giveaway contest will be underway both days of the event. This year, the grand prize is worth more than $1,000, information released by the chamber stated.
The giveaway will be held through the participation of various business throughout the community.
According to the release, the grand prize is a collection of locally donated gifts. To take part in the giveaway and earn an opportunity to win the grand prize, participants will be asked to submit an entry form into one of several red boxes, which will be moved to various business locations throughout the two-day event.
Event organizers encourage giveaway participants to visit the full list of stores what have signed up to participate in the contest.
Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Shauna Wessely, describing within the release the spirt exhibited by “chamber of commerce investors” as they made their donations, called the experience “heartwarming.”
She noted that the full prize would likely “delight some lucky winner on Dec. 3.”
Additionally, many area businesses will be taking part in the “Merchants Making a Difference” program, donating a portion of their proceeds earned Saturday Dec. 3 to support Trudy’s Room, a program operating through First United Methodist Church of Fort Atkinson.
Through its mission, the release stated, the program 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.”
A list of Fort Atkinson businesses and organizations participating in the Red Box giveaway follows: 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 and Pub, Brocks River Walk Tavern and Grill, Capputan LLC, Country Inn and Suites by Radisson, Culver’s, Dwight Foster Public Library, Eby Family Dental, Faces on Main with Rock Paper Scissors Styling Lounge, FCCU, Gallery on the Main LLC, Gel Nails, Good2Go, Great Clips, Hometown Pharmacy, JM Carpets and Flooring Design Center, Jones Market, Krueger Jeweler, LSM Chiropractic, mkCellular, Paddy Coughlins Pub, Pick n’ Save, Premier Bank, Robin’s Nest. RockRiver Wellness, Salty Buffalo Trading Co., Sarahndipity Salon LLC, and Tuttle’s Hallmark, Verlo Mattress.
Following is a list of businesses that made donations to the Red Box: Blodgett Garden Center, Faces on Main, Gallery on the Main, Krueger Jeweler, REVIVAL ROOM Massage Therapy, WarmBelly Farm, Amanda Reed Skin Care LLC, Bait Box on the Rock, The Edgewater Supper Club, Whitewater Aquatic and Fitness Center, ACE Hardware, American Wholesale Furniture, Beauty and the Bean, Bridge Event Venue, Empowered Training and Wellness, Hippychick Pennys Soaps and Body Care, Humphrey Floral LLC, Kaleidoscope Fibers LLC, Mary Kay Products from Tami Cloute, mkCellular, Paddy Coughlin’s, Robin’s Nest Salon, SJWHomemade, and Suds-delisious LLC.
Shelly Pitzl, Hebron, views crafts at the Homemade by Hambly booth. The booth was among those located last year in Feather Your Nest as part of the chamber of commerce’s holiday market. File photo/Chris Spangler.
A child poses with Santa for a photo during last year’s Open House and Holiday Market. File photo/Chris Spangler.
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