Festivus is a holiday market for the rest of us! Staged each December, we provide a human-scale alternative to the loneliness of on-line shopping or the hassle of big box holiday parking lots by featuring the best of local cottage industries whose business reflects our core values of ecology, fair trade, craftsmanship and personal customer service. 12 noon to 4 pm on the first 3 Sundays of December.

700 Magazine Street on the mural-adorned William B. Reily parking lot at the corner of Girod Street. In case of inclement weather, we set up in the attached garage. Rain or shine, it’s Festivus time!
marketumbrella.org (the folks who bring you the Crescent City Farmers Market) have created a holiday market for local cottage industries to sell their products and services in December.
To look at artists, fair traders, musicians and services from past Festivus markets, click the vendors tab.
buzz
If you’re looking for gifts that are as special as New Orleans, I bring you news of great joy.
On Saturday mornings, you can attend Festivus: A Holiday Market For The Rest Of Us, Richard McCarthy’s latest wacky idea for the Crescent City Farmers Market at 700 Magazine St.
Make your way to Girod Street, which will be blocked off for the occasion, and have a stress-free shopping experience.
“I think the entire two blocks we take up will be packed with musicians and vendors,” Richard said. “It will be like strollingin a town square.”
Vendors will sell unique hand-crafted items, including things made with recycled materials.
Richard, director of the 8-year-old Crescent City Farmers Market, has been wanting to add a nonfood component for a long time.
“We’ve been trying to figure out how to have a venue for people who don’t do food and agriculture but have plenty of other homegrown talents,” he said.
December seemed the perfect time to bring other Crescent City cottage industries to the market.
“We asked ourselves, ‘What are people looking for? What are we looking for?’” Richard said. And Festivus was born.
At Festivus, you’ll find boxes sculpted from riverbed clay, wallets created from duct tape, rebuilt bicycles, one-of-a-kind cigar-box purses. You’ll find handmade journals, Christmas ornaments, doll clothes, toys and jewelry, and you’ll meet the people who created them.
“I’m excited about it,” Richard said. “I plan to do a lot of shopping myself.”
Festivus will include activities for children, hot breakfasts at Surrey’s Juice Bar and Café, even $1-per-minute massages in what Richard calls “the Office of Homeland Serenity.”
Best of all, shoppers will get a chance to air their grievances beneath the Festivus pole.
The pole, inspirted by Richard’s love of goofiness, pays tribute to the founder of Festivus, Frank Costanza on the TV show “Seinfeld.”
Frank, worn down by the years of competitive holiday shopping for his son George, decided to create his own holiday, a time for family members to come together at the dinner table to air their grievances for the year.
The market doesn’t have a table big enough to seat everyone who has grievances from 2003, but it will have the silver Festivus pole.
“We’ll have long strips of paper and Sharpies for people to write down their grievances, and we’ll string ‘em up,” Richard said. “I don’t know about you, but I’m eager to air mine.”
Bittersweet Confections
handmade chocolate truffles
The Mother Ship
vintage remade items
Gutwrench
handsewn NOLA books
Pamela Becker
architectural jewelry
New Orleans Glassworks & Printmaking Studio
torchworked glass
New Orleans Urban Swamp Threads
local folk cards and clothes
Idle Hands
handpainted clothing
art by Mags!
stenciled one of a kinds
Red Beans and Nice
Second-line fans
Upper Ninth
homeopathic facial products
Knitzy
scarves suitable for cold air or parades
Jeremy the Alien Designs
stuffed (alien?) animals
Kettle Moraine Soap Company
handmade soaps
rue dauphine designs
cockroach pin originator
Bayou Salvage
katrina debris 2D house sculptures
Back o’ town bikes
old-made new bicycles
Patricia Gorman Designs, LLC
corsets, other fabulous girly items
Kathleen Olsen Grumich
handpainted purses & shawls
Kiki Huston Jewelry Designs
precious NOLA charm necklace
Glamour Trash
colorful, funky pendants
Unique Products
Mardi nightlights; blue tarp wizards
Octavia Books
local authors in print form
Elms Designs
recycled windows made gorgeous
Off the Beaten Way
knitted/crochet scarves, imported fair trade items
Oliver Manhattan
Saints Hats!
Cree's Cheap Chic Cree-ations
katrina memory frames
Hidden Women of the Sea
natural seaglass jewelry
High Bohemia
eclectic handmade dolls
French Quarter Candles
candles as seen on Oprah!
Mudhand
thrown pottery and sculptures
Louisiana Himalaya Association
fair trade Tibetan items
Wearable Vegetables
punny clothes made locally
Stacey Stanfill
handsculpted bowl and plate sets
Twisted Fibers
handspun yarn
Basin Street Records
music from local hands and hearts
Kabuki Design
famous hatmaker with SWB berets
See It My Way Photo
on-site family portraits
Inexplicable Confetti
design ready linoleum tiles
Heather Elizabeth Designs
gift-perfect winestoppers
The Magnolia School
art made by children with special needs
New Orleans Food Cooperative
local food activists running Office of Homeland Serenity
Girls First
high school girls desiring leadership and excellence who also love wrapping gifts!
Balance Massage
soothing and attentive professional massages
IN Exchange
socially-responsible fair trade items from Ecudor, Brazil and India
Dante’s Kitchen
music from local hands and hearts
Crepes a la Carte
french crepes
White Oaks Farm
fresh wreaths from CCFM vendor
A&K Citrus
satsumas
Ye Olde Kettle Corn
bags of kettle corn
La Davina
sorbets in unbelievable taste combinations
VooDough Bakery
gingerbread men for sale
Would you like to become a vendor at festivus? Click here to download an application.
Telephone: 504.861.5898
Facsimile: 504.866.8451
E-mail: festivus@marketumbrella.org
To download an application: click here.