Downtown Minneapolis Welcomes Holidazzle Village Featuring Minneapolis Christmas Market
Holidazzle Village featuring the Minneapolis Christmas Market will run Nov. 28- Dec. 24

MINNEAPOLIS (September 25, 2014) The Minneapolis Downtown Council announced today that the inaugural season of Holidazzle Village featuring the Minneapolis Christmas Market will open Friday, November 28 and run through Wednesday, December 24 in Downtown Minneapolis.

Holidazzle Village, located on Nicollet Mall from 12th Street to 10th Street, is free to the public and will give a fresh feel to the Holidazzle experience. The Holidazzle Village will include a variety of entertainment opportunities and festivities for all ages to enjoy throughout the season.

"We considered many options for what the next chapter of Holidazzle would be," said Steve Cramer, president and CEO, Minneapolis Downtown Council. Holidazzle Village featuring the Minneapolis Christmas Market is the idea that continued to rise above all others because of the unique opportunities it presents for bringing new experiences to the city while also offering something for everyone."

Holidazzle Village will be open for guests from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the Friday after Thanksgiving and on weekends through December with unique festivities for downtown employees, residents and visitors. Each weekend will include activities for all ages to enjoy, including nightly choir and band performances, photo opportunities, Holidazzle character sightings, live reindeer, an engaging story time and more.

Holidazzle Village featuring the Minneapolis Christmas Market will provide a collection of experiences in Downtown Minneapolis throughout the holiday season, said Leah Wong, vice president of events and marketing, Minneapolis Downtown Council. Everything from specialty signage, greening and lighting has been taken into consideration to provide a fantastic and memorable downtown holiday experience.

Select weekends at Holidazzle Village also will include special events including winter fireworks, an interactive dog sled exhibit, glass blowing demonstrations, a pop-up ice rink and more.

Minneapolis Christmas Market, located at Peavey Plaza on the corner of 11th Street and Nicollet Mall, is an authentic German-style Christmas Market featuring an Old World setting and will be the cornerstone of the Holidazzle Village experience. The Minneapolis Christmas Market will be open daily from November 28-December 24 from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. There will be a small, one-time fee between $3-$6 to enter the Minneapolis Christmas Market, which will grant season-long access.

The Minneapolis Christmas Market will be comprised of more than 30 huts with international and local vendors offering traditional and unique items such as candy treats, ornaments, candles, handcrafted gifts, mulled wine, brats and more. International days will be featured, during which the diverse ethnic traditions found in Minneapolis will be invited to showcase entertainment, food and gift items. The Minneapolis Christmas Market will host a tree lighting and additional entertainment throughout the season.

More information on Holidazzle Village featuring the Minneapolis Christmas Market will be shared in the weeks leading up to opening night, November 28th. Follow Holidazzle Village on Facebook and Twitter (@holidazzle), as well as visit Holidazzle.com for sneak peeks and newly released information on Holidazzle Village featuring the Minneapolis Christmas Market.

About the Minneapolis Downtown Council

Founded in 1955, and one of the oldest central business associations in the nation, the Minneapolis Downtown Council (MDC) is a membership-based entity that works to create an extraordinary downtown. The MDCs collaborative developments of Intersections: The Downtown 2025 Plan was designed to help downtown businesses, community leaders and citizens build on downtown assets and implement future goals. Holidazzle Village is produced by the MDC. For more information about MDC, please visit www.downtownmpls.com. For information about Holidazzle Village, please visit www.holidazzle.com.