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November 3, 2021

New “Winterfair” holiday market coming to downtown Hartford

Zachary Vasile | Hartford Business Journal Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin at a recent press conference on Pratt Street.
By Zachary Vasile

A new holiday market will be springing up in downtown Hartford later this month.

At a press conference on Pratt Street on Wednesday, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin announced the coming debut of “Winterfair: Hartford’s Holiday Market,” which will be held on Pratt and Trumbull streets. Over 100 small businesses, including retailers, craftsmakers and food trucks, are expected to participate, setting up in currently vacant storefronts or in pop-up booths and kiosks in the area.

The event will operate on select weekends and weekdays between Black Friday, which this year falls on Nov. 26, and New Year’s Eve.

Bronin said the market is meant to complement other holiday activities in the city, including Winterfest ice skating in Bushnell Park.

“We’ve all been through a difficult year and a half, and this is going to give people the chance to come together and be together,” he said. “And this is a great opportunity for people from all over to engage with a lot of our great small businesses, some of which they might not have even known existed.”

The market will be hosted by Hartford community venture studio Breakfast Lunch & Dinner and sponsored by Shelbourne Global Solutions, which owns the buildings along Pratt Street and has spearheaded its revitalization.

“We’ve changed the narrative around Pratt Street,” Shelbourne COO Michael Seidenfeld said of the work his company, the city and community partners have done. “People from all around the state and out of state have started to hear that this is the place to be. It’s the hip street, the connector street.”

According to organizers, Winterfair will be open Nov. 26-28, Dec. 2-5, 9-12, 16-24, and 29-31, with most weekday hours between noon and 8 p.m. and most weekend hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Special events and themed weekends will be planned throughout the six-week run.

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