The Dairy Block Hosting European Style Market For The Holidays
DENVER (CBS4) – Mile High Holiday celebrations are mostly outdoors this year, with masks and social distancing. Dairy Block, in Downtown Denver, is creating new ways to keep some traditions alive.
"A market like this is huge for every small business," said Paul Baron, one of the owners of B Fresh Gear, a local company that sells "geek chic" apparel.
B Fresh is one of the 8 to 12 vendors that Dairy Block brought in as part of their outdoor holiday market. Baron told CBS4 that last year the apparel company did 97 pop-up shops providing the bulk of the its sales. This is the 4th pop-up store it's done this year.
"We don't have a brick and mortar. We rely on markets like this to stay afloat," Baron explained.
"I think it's important to support your local establishments all the time, but this year especially, after the year we've all had," said Maggie Pryde, Marketing Coordinator for Dairy Block.
On Saturdays, on the Dairy Block you can hear the 3-part harmonies of the Jingle Bells singing holiday carols. Each of the three singers is enclosed behind plastic, so that they are completely COVID compliant.
"You can't sit on Santa's lap this year, but you can come take your picture with him," Pryde explained.
There are chalk drawings of Ol' Saint Nick offering the perfect selfie spot. And heaters line the alleyway, keeping the temperature at a comfortable 45 degrees. Capacity control is huge for outdoor events right now, so Dairy Block has tables set up to monitor how many people are going in and out, making this European-style holiday market safe, and festive.
"It's important to keep the holiday spirit alive. We're lucky we have this outdoor space to do this," Pryde told CBS4.
Dairy Block is about to start it's 12 Days of Instagram Giveaways. Clues will be posted daily, with the hashtag #12daysofdairyblock, to the location of a hidden milk bottle with a prize inside.
LINK: Mile High Holidays
