MIFFLINBURG, Pa. — Christkindl Market is a longtime tradition in downtown Mifflinburg, but this year's event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This community, not just the vendors who come here to vend, but businesses outside of here also rely on this income to get them through the winter. A lot of the food vendors do actually rely on what they make in these three days to get them through January, February, March," said Heidi Criswell, executive director of the Mifflinburg Heritage and Revitalization Association.
That organization, along with the Gutelius House Museum and the Mifflinburg Buggy Museum, planned Christmas in Mifflinburg. It's like the Christkindl Market but on a smaller scale.
"We had some vendors that actually approached us to set up and sell this weekend, kind of like what the Bloomsburg Fair vendors did back in September. And so that's how this all started. We provide them with a spot to sell their stuff," Criswell said.
"It's not necessarily about the bigness of it. We just like to get out and let people come get our products," Teresa Rothermel said.
Rothermel runs Son-Rise Meats based in Mifflinburg. This would have been her fifth year at Christkindl Market, selling homemade bologna and other meats.
"It's a big part of our business for our fourth quarter of the year, so, yeah, it was kind of disappointing, but things worked out," Rothermel said.
Shoppers can still get their German Christmas market fix. There is a Christkindl Market store open on weekends on Chestnut Street.
Christmas in Mifflinburg runs through Saturday evening on Fifth Street in downtown Mifflinburg.
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