Winter Market brings dozens of vendors under one roof

Liberty Godparent Foundation to host Christmas shopping expo

Why wait for Black Friday? Lynchburg residents can get a head start on their Christmas shopping Nov. 16-18 at the Winter Market, an annual shopping expo put on by the Liberty Godparent Ministries.

Shopping made easy — Winter Market attendees can peruse through tables full of products such as candles, chocolate, clothing and gift items. Photo provided

Dozens of vendors will gather at the Schilling Center this weekend, offering a variety of products including gift items like candles and jewelry and different services.

“This is a shopping extravaganza created by the Liberty Godparent Ministries. We have gathered unique and specialty vendors from throughout the state of Virginia and beyond to offer the attendees a one stop experience to begin their holiday shopping,” Director of Operations at the Liberty Godparent Foundation Kris Richard said.

This is the second time the foundation has decided to bring the festival to the Lynchburg area.

“The Winter Market has been in existence for a few years, however, we took a year off and this is the second year under new organizers,” Richard said.

The Liberty Godparent Foundation wanted to bring the Winter Market to this area not only to provide a great holiday shopping experience, but also to bring awareness to their mission.

“There are similar event shows around in larger cities throughout the state and we wanted to have a venue where we could raise awareness for our ministry. At the same time, have a new holiday tradition for shoppers in Lynchburg,” Richard explained.

Events such as the Winter Market Festival typically have a large number of attendees. The foundation is expecting this year’s event to be well attended. The main purpose of the festival is to bring support and knowledge of the ministry to the public, so the hope is for a large crowd.

“It’s hard to ‘guesstimate’ how many people will turn out,” Richard said. “Our event is growing and we know awareness is building. We are praying that thousands of people will walk through the doors of the Schilling Center during the three day event.”

Attending the event held this Friday, Saturday and Sunday will not only give people the chance to discover great gifts, but also to help a life-changing foundation. All proceeds from the Winter Market will go directly to Liberty Godparent Ministries.

“There are many benefits to attending the Winter Market. First, you will be supporting a great cause. Second, you will be able to shop and find gifts from some of the best shops in town, as well as have access to vendors from across the state. You can get a jump start on your holiday shopping,” Richard said.

Richard said that the Winter Market will be filled with many amazing gifts and foods.

“You’ll find sauces, dips, jewelry, hand-crafted pens, gourmet foods, clothing, candles, antiques, children’s items, photographers, everything you’ll need to get ready for the holidays. Schedule your holiday photos and check off your holiday gifts list. We’ll have staff here ready to answer questions guests may have about our ministry as well,” Richard stated.

Doors open Friday at 1 p.m. Admission is $5 for the general public and $3 for students.
For more information, call (434) 592-4407.

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