St. Thomas Christmas market opened in Esplanade Park
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By Matti Huhta
Ismo and Kaija Tilanto were busy on Sunday setting up their sales booth in the Esplanade Park in the centre of Helsinki.
“I guess it’s the tenth time that we are taking part in the St. Thomas Market”, says Kaija Tilanto, who sells her handicrafts there.
The St. Thomas Market comprises one of the year’s two high seasons for the Tilantos. “In the summer I sell my handicrafts at Helsinki’s Market Square. Then 90 per cent of my customers are tourists, but here the proportion is exactly the other way around”.
The goods include design knitwear: caps, scarves, mittens, and sweaters.
The market, which opened for the Christmas season on Monday, has been an annual feature for 15 years.
Some years ago vendors would shiver in their tents, or under the open sky. Now they have the protection of attractive sales booths provided by the city. This Christmas, the number of vending booths increased from 120 to 140. The area covered by the market has also been extended.
“It is good that there are more vendors, because then there will be more people coming. There are not many places for selling handicrafts anyway”, Kaija Tilanto says.
Taking the same view is Sirkka-Liisa Korhonen, who has been involved with the St. Thomas Market for 7-8 years. Her merchandise includes hand-made felt-covered elves, reindeer, birds, and other ornamental objects.
“It’s not exactly cheap to come here. One booth costs 800 euros, but on the other hand, it’s not very much if you divide it by the number of days”, Korhonen calculates.
She is also pleased with the input from the city. The rent includes a small wooden booth and electricity.
The tenants are chosen from about 200 applicants by the Premises Centre of the City of Helsinki on the basis of the merchandise on offer. In addition to handicrafts, there is also food on offer.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 8.12.2008
The St. Thomas Christmas Market is open until December 21st on weekdays from 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM and on weekends from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Santa Claus will be at the market next weekend, December 13th and 14th, in the afternoon.
NOTE: The market will be open in 2009 from December 7th to 22nd.
MATTI HUHTA / Helsingin Sanomat
matti.huhta@hs.fi
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| 9.12.2008 - THIS WEEK |
 St. Thomas Christmas market opened in Esplanade Park |
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