POTTSVILLE, Pa. — The Yuengling Mansion on Mahantango Street in Pottsville is ready for the season, decorated from top to bottom with garland and Christmas lights.
This home is not only special to Debbie Yuengling and her family, but to the entire Pottsville community.
“This was my great-grandparents' house. This house was built in 1913. It's a Tudor-style home, and probably around the late 1970s is when the family gave it over to the city,” she explained.
The biggest Christmas tradition for the Yuengling Mansion is the annual Christkindlmarkt.
Marley Mikovich, the mansion’s executive director, has been planning the event for weeks, transforming every level of the house into a shopping plaza.
“This market helps celebrate local artists and artisans that create beautiful products that you can't just buy in a store. It's very unique and very one of a kind,” Mikovich said.
The goal is to bring new and returning customers through the doors of the Yuengling mansion.
“You get to see the theme in the rooms, and this year, you get to go outside into the carriage house, which hasn't been open the last few years, so it's going to be a really great opportunity and a great weekend for shoppers,” Debbie Yuengling added.
The event gives 30 businesses a Christmas-themed storefront.
“Some of my vendors don't have a storefront. You can shop online for them, but it is great for them to all get together in this historic building, and we've been doing this for quite a few years now,” said Mikovich.
Each vendor can show off their goods while helping customers put one-of-a-kind presents under their trees.
“It's important to shop small and shop local. There's people who sometimes only get to do this once a year to sell their goods and it's great to support them and not just supporting local artists, but also supporting us here at the mansion,” Mikovich mentioned.
To support over 30 vendors in Schuylkill County, the Christkindlmarkt, will be open this Saturday and Sunday in Pottsville.
You can make your way to the Christkindlmarkt this Saturday, December 2, from noon -6 p.m. and Sunday, December 3, from 11 a.m.- 4 p.m..
Admission is $5 and benefits the Schuylkill County Council for the Arts.