DALSTON CHRISTMAS MARKET – MUSIC STAGE ANNOUNCED

Dalston Christmas Market will take place in Dalston Square on Sunday 1st December 2013 and offers a vibrant, contemporary alternative to more traditional ‘German style’ Christmas markets. The one day event features a vast array of creative talent including artisans, artists, fashion and jewellery designers, leather designers, ceramicists, and card makers, alongside fabulous food and drink stalls – with and without a Christmas twist – and with more than half of the stallholders being from the local area.

Stallholders and shoppers will be entertained from the live stage, organised by City Showcase, the year round not-for-profit festival of new music, by up and coming bands and artists interspersed with local school and community choirs. Performers include singer/songwriters, Akayzia, Jazz Morley, Tom Tyler and Terry Emm, alternative rock band Felix Pallas, breaking band Worry Dolls, pop act Class A and DJ and hip hop artist OLOS.  Choirs include London Fields Primary School Choir, Lauriston School Choir, Rushmore Primary School Choir, Hackney Borough Youth Choir, Vox Voices and Millfields School Choir performing their new charity single.

Also performing with be the Dalston Singers, formed early that day through a vocal workshop being held at the Dalston CLR James Library.  The Dalston CLR James Library will be hosting many other free workshops throughout the weekend with sessions on making great Christmas presents and cards.

Stage performances will be officially opened by Councillor Sophie Linden at noon.

Stallholder participants include a vast array of creative talent including celebrated ceramicist Reiko Kaneko with specially designed Christmas ornaments, Fee Fee La Fou’s curiosities and confectionary from Dalston, typographical printed goods from Lucy Loves This, and skateboards upcycled into serving platters from Chubba Art & Design. There is also a strong children’s presence with cool sustainable clothing from The Fableists, illustrated mugs, prints & books by Eight Bear and Swiss-themed cards, small gifts & height charts from Madame Chalet. There will also be a food and drink area including gourmet sandwiches from Franchini & Friends, iconic British fayre from What The Dickens, Southern American street food from Anna Mae’s Mac & Cheese and the family run Big Tree Cider company.

Businesses in the local area supporting Dalston Christmas Market include sponsor Cafe Route, art studios The Chocolate Factory, which will be holding open studios all weekend, and Dalston Eastern Curve Garden which will provide handmade lanterns to lighten the Square at dusk.

Dalston Christmas Market, organised by City Showcase: Markets with support from the London Borough of Hackney, is supporting Hackney Winter Night Shelter, a local charity that provides shelter for homeless people during the winter. It follows the organisers’ other event Soho Flea Market, which drew over 15,000 people to Dean Street in June.

The market presents the perfect trading platform for innovative goods, food and crafts made by the next generation of designers and artists for which the London borough of Hackney including Dalston and the surrounding areas of Hoxton, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington are heralded.

This family day out will appeal to anyone wanting to enjoy an alternative Christmas shopping experience in Dalston.

Quote from Council:

Nanette Rigg, Founding Director of City Showcase added:
“Following the continued and growing success of Soho Flea Market, we decided to broaden out our reach with an event that could easily combine cutting edge design with a vibrant local community in one of London’s emerging creative hotbeds.”