This Wednesday and Thursday, the annual Starkville Holiday Bazaar will commence at The Mill at MSU.
This year will mark the 50th anniversary of the bazaar, a Christmas shopping experience at The Mill.
The event will feature vendor booths set up to showcase local businesses, offering a wide range of products from the edible to the incredible.
Over the past few weeks, the bazaar’s Instagram page has been featuring many of the upcoming booths for the festival. L.A. Green, a boutique owned by Lauren Ann Cooper, is one of those vendors.
Cooper, an MSU alumna, said the event has been a great avenue for early entrepreneurs to grow their businesses in Starkville. She said the Holiday Bazaar holds a special place in her heart.
“The Holiday Bazaar was one of the first shows I did as a young entrepreneur as a jewelry designer in 2009. We returned to the show about four or five years ago,” Cooper said.
L.A. Green is just one of around 50 to 60 vendors and 80 booths set to attend the bazaar. The boutique sells clothing, shoes, accessories, home décor and various gifts.
The Pop Porium, another booth registered, features numerous flavors of gourmet popcorn. The name might be recognizable from Saturdays at Davis Wade Stadium, where the shop sells also popcorn.
Also registered is Arrowhead Ceramics, which features handcrafted pottery by Austin Chambliss, another Starkville talent. Jean’s Apothecare also holds a booth, featuring aromatherapy, skincare and candles.
Dunkington, described by owners Brandi and Josh Herrington as “Starkville’s most unique boutique,” is also registered. The shop carries art, jewelry and handcrafted accessories.
“For this year’s Bazaar, we can promise that our unique selections will be the talk of any gift exchange,” Herrington said.
Dunkington has been a part of the bazaar for five years now, and Herrington praised the shopping experience.
“It’s really important for small businesses to get in front of a new audience and take advantage of forming new relationships. While the old fashioned inside mall is a thing of the past these days, this type of event allows customers to experience lots of new and shiny things all in one place,” Herrington said.
Cooper said the event is great for friends and shoppers alike.
“My favorite thing is seeing friends from all over the state that come to shop,” Cooper said. “It is a profitable event but also good for the soul.”
Paige Watson, the director of Main Street for the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, serves as the bazaar’s event organizer. She said the event is an annual classic for her.
“I love the Christmastime and shopping, so this is just my favorite (event) that we do throughout the year,” Watson said. “This is my personal favorite event because it really means the holidays are here, and because it’s so special to see the handmade items from vendors.”
Watson said she hopes to continue to expand the event in the future as an organizer for the bazaar.
“I’ve been the organizer of the bazaar since its 45th year in 2017,” Watson said. “We look forward to having the 50th anniversary be the best event ever and continue to grow the event in years to come.”
Watson said anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 people are estimated to attend the bazaar annually, with around one-third of those being MSU students.
Cooper said the event location is a great spot for the event to flourish.
“I love the location venue. I feel like the Mill is a great bridge between Starkville as a community and the University,” Cooper said.
The bazaar will run from 7 to 10 p.m. this Wednesday and Thursday. Admission to the event will cost $5.
