In this city of neighborhoods, it’s possible to make it around the world in less than 30 holiday shopping days, without ever thinking of circumnavigating the globe.
Picture this: At the DuSable Museum, ceremonial drumming introduces Durbar L’Afrique, as near a replication of an African street market as you’ll find in the U.S.
Musicians play African music on instruments such as the West African 21-string kora. Artisans and traders from Africa’s ports and diaspora sell goods you are not going to see elsewhere: necklaces of ostrich shells and porcupine quills from Botswana, sand paintings and glass paintings from Dakar, beaded sculptures from South Africa, colorfully woven Kente cloth from Ghana. Some traders sell brass castings from Cameroon.
Basket traders come from Jamaica and Ethiopia, while artisans from Botswana sell their own earth-toned baskets “. . . woven so tight they can carry water,” says Ramon Price, chief curator at the DuSable Museum, 740 E. 56th Pl. The market is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Dec. 13 and from noon to 4 p.m. on Dec. 14.
Stocking stuffers start at $5, and serious collector items range from $300 to $500.
At noon today, the Newberry Library’s Very Merry Bazaar will unofficially kick off this season’s cultural shopping opportunities, offering consumers imports, arts and educational items from 40 participating organizations, including cultural groups such as the Mitchell Indian and Mexican Fine Arts museums, and nature centers such as the Adler Planetarium and the Chicago Botanic Gardens and Nature Museum. The Newberry is at 60 W. Walton St. and its bazaar will run from noon until 8 p.m. tonight, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday. A $5 admission fee covers all three days.
Also this weekend, the Ukrainian Village Bazaar will sell imported and neighborhood-made folk crafts at St. Nicholas Cathedral (2238 W. Rice St., 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday). Gift items include ceramic pottery, woven tapestry, embroidered clothing, doilies, pillow cases, glass-beaded necklaces, traditionally designed eggs called pysanky and hand-carved pearwood boxes in many sizes that are often inlaid with mother of pearl or other material.
For five centuries, Germany’s holiday fair has been Christkindlmarket, a street fair that originated in Nuremberg, a Chicago sister city. Originally, the fair sold parents toys for their children, but eventually it expanded to other German towns and evolved to sell holiday ornaments, foods and gift items.
Chicago’s Christkindlmarket opens at Daley Center Plaza next Friday–the same day as Mayor Richard M. Daley’s tree-lighting ceremony at 4 p.m.–and runs through Dec. 21. It will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.
Shoppers will find woodworkers demonstrating their craft, strolling singers and musicians and some 40 vendors selling German imports of every sort. Toys and ornaments are hand-made of carved wood, pewter or blown glass from Dresden, Bavaria or Thueringen. Gift items will include ceramic bowls and plates, and glass-blown vases. Lace and linen items such as doilies start around $5, but larger dining table dressings will range from $700 to $1,000 and can be ordered for shipment from Germany.
Tired shoppers can rest in a warming tent, snack on bratwurst, hot pretzels, roasted almonds and traditional hot spiced wine called gluehwein.
The same weekend (Nov. 28-30, noon to 5 p.m. each day), the Chicago Historical Society, at Clark Street and North Avenue, will host a Native American Holiday Bazaar, where 12 to 15 Midwestern Native American tribes will be represented, thanks to the American Indian Economic Development Association.
The Christmas Bazaar at the Swedish American Museum Center (5211 N. Clark St.) will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 6 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 7 amid a traditional celebration of Swedish folk songs and dancing. Imports sold will include Scandinavian peasant designs applied to wood in rosemaling artwork. Folk art will include silver-framed, rose quartz jewelry.
A Swedish Christmas Cafe will serve open-faced sandwiches, beverages and pastries. St. Lucia celebrations, candlelit parades with traditional singing will take place at 2:30 and 3 p.m. both days.
The Christmas Bazaar at the Irish-American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox St., (9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 7) will feature items from a dozen local Irish import stores and crafters. Irish ornaments will include porcelain with Irish designs, some handmade knitted ornaments, and painted wooden ornaments depicting Irish settings. Vendors also will be selling knit sweaters, dresses, coats, capes, hats, scarves and gloves. They’ll range from $50 for hats and scarves to about $400 for dresses. Imported jewelry will include silver and gold claddagh jewelry ranging from $20 to nearly $300.
A pre-Kwanza festival at the South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 South Shore Dr., from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 20, will feature cultural workshops, including genealogy sessions, and a marketplace of 45 vendors from around the country. They’ll sell Afrocentric clothing and arts and crafts reflecting African heritage: wood carvings, masks from Africa, Haitian leather sculptings, Kente cloth, mud cloth and African-American dolls. The celebration will include a Taste of Africa, with representation from African, Jamaican and Caribbean restaurants.
Finally, the Textile Art Center’s Holiday Market will sell unusual American-made arts and crafts on Wednesdays through Sundays, from Nov. 28 through Dec. 24. Arts and crafts will include hand-loomed chanile, hand-dyed and hand-painted scarves, glass-beaded jewelry, and hand-blocked felt hats embellished with beadwork. Gift items range from $10 for some jewelry items to more than $120 for something like a hand-painted silk velvet scarf. The center is at 916 W. Diversey Pkwy., and market hours are noon to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. on weekends.
