Christmas Market in Harmony
HARMONY — The Harmony Museum's annual WeihnachtsMarkt, or Christmas Market, drew perhaps its biggest crowds ever to the borough over the weekend, according to organizers' estimates.
This year's German Christmas Market kicked off at 11 a.m. Saturday and ended Sunday afternoon, bringing a steady stream of festivalgoers throughout the day. Visitors filled shops and restaurants throughout the borough.
“I think we may have approached 5,000 people,” said Rodney Gasch, president and CEO of Historic Harmony. “It was a great event, even on Steelers Sunday.”
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For an event that is traditionally well-attended, Gasch said 5,000 people would make this a record-setting WeihnachtsMarkt despite the cold temperatures.“I think it really got people in the Christmas spirit,” said Gasch.Historic Harmony holds the event every year and tries to hold true to German traditions.“It is WeihnachtsMarkt, which means Christmas Market, and it is completely German; we imitate the German Christmas markets,” said Gwen Lutz, vice president of Historic Harmony. “We try to have it in the same spirit, we do it no matter what the weather is. A lot of it is outdoors and that's how they do it in Germany.”Lutz staffed a booth selling German alpine hats to attendees.“We started the Christmas Market as a small craft show just in the museum hall about 18 years ago. And it has just grown to what you see today,” said Lutz. “There's lots to do. There's German entertainment. It's a very popular event.”This year the market hosted around 50 vendors selling everything from spiced wine and roasted nuts to baskets and hatchet-carved spoons.Proceeds went to Historic Harmony to maintain and promote the borough's historic elements.“We are the caretakers of the Harmony Museum,” said Lutz. “It is to help us maintain our properties and run the museum.”The WeihnachtsMarkt is one of the group's biggest fundraisers of the year.“It keeps our doors open, our building heated and keeps events coming in the future,” said Gasch.With WeihnachtsMarkt behind them, Historic Harmony now turns its attention to its next holiday event.“Our next event coming up is Silvester, which is a joint event with the Harmony Borough and Parks Board,” Gasch said.Silvester is the borough's New Year celebration in which the town celebrates the New Year as it takes place in Germany at 6 p.m.“You can come celebrate and be back to your home by 7 p.m.,” said Gasch.Anyone who would like to volunteer to help with the event or who would like to get involved with Historic Harmony can call 724-452-7341.“We're always looking for volunteers or people who want to help the community or who care about history,” said Gasch. “We're a member-driven organization.”Historic Harmony is currently looking to grow its ranks over the next year.“We're looking to add 75-plus members this year and in 2018,” said Gasch.For more information or to contact the museum visit the website at www.harmonymuseum.org or send email to hmuseum@zoominternet.net.
