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The Oglethorpe Echo
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Christmas Marketplace kicks off holiday season
JORDAN LONG/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
Santa listens as a child tells him what she wants for Christmas
at the annual Christmas Marketplace in Crawford last weekend.
Santa (Jim Anderson) travels to Oglethorpe County to appear as
Santa Claus during the holiday season.
By Jordan Long
The Oglethorpe Echo
The twinkle of fairy lights and
the laughter of families and friends
filled Crawford Depot this past
weekend as the Oglethorpe Coun
ty Chamber of Commerce hosted
its annual Christmas Marketplace.
The marketplace has been a tra
dition within the county for over a
decade, bringing together the com
munity and local businesses for
Christmas. The three-day event
featured an assortment of locally
handcrafted products, from Christ
mas gifts and decorations to home
decor and food.
Linda Parish, office manager of
the Chamber of Commerce, along
with other members of the board,
organized the event.
???I love it,??? she said. ???It is a fun
time for everyone to come togeth
er and get ready for Christmas.???
For some businesses, this
weekend kicked off their first
showcase at the marketplace, but
for all, it marked the beginning of
their Christmas celebrations.
Vincent???s Place
Heather Santerineross is the
owner and developer of the non
profit Vincent???s Place, where ???an
imals and human animals??? can be
welcomed into ???a safe and healing
place,??? she said.
Vincent???s Place is currently be
ing built in Colbert, and Santer
ineross hopes to be finished early
next year. It will be home to res
cued goats and will offer the com
munity ???the healing aspects of ani
mal therapy.???
This was Santerineross??? first
time at the event, and she spread
the word about her cause and
raised money to complete her
project by selling Vincent???s
Place T-shirts and goat-related
pins.
???My family is from Denmark,
and Christmas Eve is our big
day,??? Santerineross said. ???And
since I don???t have family locally,
I spend the holidays with my cho
sen family, where we decorate the
tree and spend time with one an
other. That time is so important to
me.???
All about the wreaths
Another first-timer at the event
was Shannon Frye, owner of All
about the Wreaths. She began her
business three years ago because
she finds ???doing crafts like this
therapeutic and relaxing.???
Frye sold Christmas and UGA-
themed wreaths, along with
Christmas ornaments at the mar
ketplace.
The holiday season is Frye???s
busiest time of year, but she al
ways makes time to celebrate with
family.
???I love watching Christmas pa
rades, they???re so fun and bring ev
eryone together,??? said Frye.
North Georgia
Pecan Co.
Monica Gravenor, general oper
ations manager of North Georgia
Pecan Co., and daughter Shia 01-
iverio spent their weekend selling
their locally-sourced pecans, hon
ey and jams.
The company sold chocolate-
covered pecans and regular pe
cans, Allie Bee???s honey and a vari
ety of Mama Marf???s jams.
North Georgia Pecan Co. has
been open since 1946, and kick
starts its holiday operations the
first week of every November.
Gravenor and Oliverio???s holiday
season is also marked by a specific
family tradition.
???I love very old Christmas
books,??? Gravenor said. ???I read
them so much as a kid, and want
my girls to read them too, espe
cially with everyone using their
phones now, reading books is so
important and will always be a tra
dition.???
Circle Heart 16
Debra Satterlee, the owner of
Circle Heart 16, utilizes her busi
ness to sell handmade clothing and
crafts from quilts. A variety of her
products ???jackets, overalls, or
naments, and baskets ??? are made
from quilts.
Satterlee has had her business
for years, and she has come to the
marketplace many times as a way
to get ready for the holidays.
???I love Christmas,??? she said.
???My favorite part is making tradi
tional Italian food with my family
??? it never gets old.???
TURKEYS, From Page 1
???There???s so many people (buy
ing) turkeys for Thanksgiving
that it???s hard to get turkeys later
in the year,??? Terry said. ???Even the
hatcheries don???t have turkeys after
Thanksgiving.???
Brown agreed, saying Caribe
United raises turkeys for Thanks
giving, specifically, and offers
home delivery to customers in the
Atlanta and Athens areas.
This year, though, Brown said
turkey sales have been slow.
???We only raise the birds for
Thanksgiving,??? Brown said. ???But
this year has not been very good.
(We???ve sold) much less than we
did last year. With the way the
economy is going right now, peo
ple aren???t spending a whole lot out
there right now.???
The turkeys aren???t Caribe Unit
ed???s only source of income. She
and her husband also raise other
wildlife, such as ducks, pigs and
chickens.
But as far as Thanksgiving goes,
Brown makes sure to save a turkey to
celebrate the holiday with her family
??? adding traditional Caribbean cui
sine in keeping with their roots.
???I???ve only ever done a whole
turkey once,??? Brown said. ???There
are only two of us, and turkey is a
lot to eat, because it???s a big bird ???
but I normally take a cut and cook
it in my style. I sometimes cur
ry it, I may sometimes bake it in
the oven or fry it sometimes, but
of course, I always have to have
my curry goat and some oxtails on
the side.???
The new owners of Crawford ACE
are Tripp Strickland, left, and his father
George Strickland
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