The escalating popularity of the Athlone Christmas Market gives cause for much positivity with regards to the collaborative festive initiative in the years to come, Cllr Frankie Keena, stated this week.
With a prevalent festive atmosphere embracing the Civic Square in the heart of Athlone this past weekend, Cllr Keena expressed his gratitude to all those who attended the Christmas Market over the duration.
“The Athlone Christmas Market committee, a wholly voluntary group, would like to express a sincere thank you to those members of the public who visited the market during its opening hours this past weekend.
“A festive atmosphere was to the fore with a wide variety of excellent gifts and bargains on display at all the stalls. It was truly fantastic to see such high spec products being made available by the traders who really enhanced their cabins to embrace the Christmas spirit,” Lorna Stuart Trainor of Room in Bloom, one of the chief organisers stated.
Cllr Keena stated that the Christmas Market continues to grow in popularity as the voluntary committee look towards the 2024 hosting of the occasion.
“Due to the popularity of our Christmas Market we have noticed a big increase in demand from traders seeking to participate. This year we were at full capacity and unfortunately had to turn away some traders. It is planned to conduct a total review early in the new year during which we will share our thoughts as to how we can cater for more traders in 2024. In reality, this is a good complaint but if we want the market to expand, we need to come up with a solution,” Cllr Keena commented.
Apart from the stalls spread of local traders, the committee also arranged some beautiful festive music and singing under the canopy.
“Clonbonny NS, Tubberclare NS and Scoil na gCeithre Maistri brought along their talented students to enthral the public with excellent singing and music. Also, two young first year students, Harry and Sachin from Athlone Community College, busked under the canopy and they were warmly received by the public. There were so many brilliant artists who performed, we are so fortunate in Athlone to have such a wealth of talent in the town,” Cllr Keena added.
Cllr Keena also thanked Athlone Town Shopping Centre management for their support in making sure the Christmas Market ran smoothly and he also afforded a special word of appreciation to Westmeath County Council for its financial contribution which helped in some way cover the cost of running this successful occasion.
The Athlone Christmas Market committee would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and every good wish in 2024
