“I think people will be very surprised whenever they see this place transform”
The final preparations are well underway for the opening of Northern Ireland’s new Christmas Market.
For the first time, Newry is set to host its own dedicated Christmas Market with more than 220 stalls confirmed to take part across a five-week celebration.
Bringing Christmas magic to Newry Variety Market at John Mitchel Place, the Newry Christmas Market will open its doors to customers on Thursday, November 20 – coinciding with the city’s annual Christmas light switch-on.
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Running weekly from Thursday to Sunday until December 21, the new Christmas market is the brainchild of Noelle Markey, owner of local events business Room Angelz, who wanted to make the most of the city’s historic 17th-century market venue to host something unlike Newry has seen before.
The Markets, supported by the Newry BID and R Kings Competitions as the lead business partner, visitors can expect seasonal music, live performers, traditional carol singers, movie nights and local groups who will take to the stage inside the market to entertain visitors.
The Santa’s Grotto Experience, supported by the Canal Court Hotel and Haldane & Fisher, will welcome a very important visitor from the North Pole – complete with elves and personalised experiences for children and their families and a number of days for special education needs have been planned, supported by Newry Credit Union and the Canal Court Hotel in Newry.
Noelle and the traders are almost complete in transforming the space into a magical winter wonderland filled with festive stalls, artisan makers, delicious food, live entertainment and seasonal cheer as the countdown to opening begins.
Belfast Live headed to the Newry Christmas Market on Wednesday afternoon to see how things were shaping up for the inaugural event.
Noelle said the dream of hosting a Christmas Market in the venue had been on her mind for a few years and she decided to take the plunge and make it a reality in 2025.
She said: “This is the first time there’s ever been a Christmas market of this scale to happen in this town, so it is running for 5 weeks and what people can expect is really good vendors who have poured their heart and souls into even their stalls – it just shows how much people are actually involved and invested.
“My idea here was I wanted to make this a festival experience for everybody to come in and enjoy as opposed to walking quickly around.
“I designed the whole market out so that you can come in, go do your shopping, pick your gifts, go get a drink, get something to eat and then relax in front of our big screen.”
The Newry Christmas Market has picked a “perfectly curated” mix of stalls offering gifts, handmade crafts and arts, specialist food stalls and themed bars for those wanting a unique spot to kick off their festive night out.
Noelle continued: “I’m so excited – it’s great to have something in our town so I think that’s the most exciting part and then hopefully seeing people come in, pass through and enjoy it.
“We’ve put so much effort in and we’ll not say that every event is perfect, but we’ve tried our absolute best. All the stallholders that are standing here braving the cold, they’ve put the effort in and I think people will be very surprised whenever they see this place transform.
“To see how different it is and how magical it’s going feel with all the people in and around it.”
Opening Times for the Markets are Thursday 4-11pm, Friday 3-11pm, Saturday 11-11pm and Sunday 12-10pm and for more information https://newrychristmasmarket.com
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