Business & Tech

Christkindlmarkt's Third Largest Crowd: 61,522

Bethlehem's 75th year as 'Christmas City USA' turned out to be a memorable one as tens of thousands of people visited the city for its annual holiday celebration.

Christkindlmarkt celebrated a milestone by welcoming its one-millionth visitor and saw its third highest attendance ever marking a successful 2012 holiday season, according to a holiday season wrapup released by city officials.

The highest visitor tallies for the holiday market are:

  • 2007: 65,000
  • 2011: 63,436
  • 2012: 61,552

Christkindlmarkt featured live holiday music, glassblowing demonstrations and 125 vendors offering handmade gifts, holiday ornaments and Christmas collectibles.

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The one-millionth guest was Autumn Gilbert on Dec. 14. Gilbert, of Weatherly, Carbon County, was the 151st person through the doors that day and was attending the event for the very first time 

The Christmas City Village, located in the city’s Historic Main Street district, also had a successful run in 2012. The open-air market, presented by the Downtown Bethlehem Association, featured 30 outdoor vendors offering holiday crafts, gifts and food. In its second year, the Village added 10 new vendor huts - with a waiting list for even more interested vendors - resulting in an expanded market at three separate locations on Main Street.

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On the weekends from Nov. 23 to Dec. 23, more than 2,000 people rode the trolley to visit the city’s two shopping districts, museums and other locations throughout Bethlehem.


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