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FERNDALE — Ferndale’s holiday shopping event, Jingle & Mingle, will be returning this month for its second annual event.
Jingle & Mingle will take place Nov. 18-19 at 211 W. Troy St., near Allen Road, and in The dot parking structure. It will feature a holiday market, live entertainment and a nonperishable food drive.
The event was held for the first time last year. With eyes on expanding Jingle & Mingle, the Ferndale Underground Holiday Market was introduced for year two, said the city’s director of special events, Michael Lary.
“The idea was always to eventually grow into having a market, but I’m a believer that you first test the wheels before you buy them and just to see what kind of response you get,” he said.
Lary said the holiday market will be located on the lower level of The dot to help keep patrons out of the weather if it gets harsh like last year.
“Whether it turns out to be a nice day or a crappy day, it won’t matter because we’ll still have nothing to worry about when it comes to the weather, so you can still come out and browse and shop not only at the market, but also in downtown Ferndale,” he said.
The food drive will benefit the Renaissance Vineyard Food Pantry. Even with the bad weather last year, Lary highlighted how people still came to support and donate almost four pallets of food.
“That was the first and primary motivation to even begin this event, is how to help those in need during the holiday season,” he said. “It serves more than one purpose, and that is that you create an event because this is the time of year where things kind of slow down because we don’t have any more festivals, summer festivals. So how do you still try to draw business to downtown to support downtown businesses, the restaurants and into bars and retailers and service providers? So this is our way of trying to do that to remind people that downtown Ferndale is still here.”
More than 65 vendors will attend Jingle & Mingle to sell clothing, jewelry and other holiday gifts.
Roxann Kesterson, with Carved Coins LLC, will be selling her custom coin art at the market. According to Kesterson, her work is based on a tradition that dates back to the Civil War where “soldiers would spend months making one coin for one person” called “love tokens.”
“I use the same tools and techniques the soldiers did, but with just new and fun and different designs,” she said. “If they can make something for someone they love in the worst situations ever using just what was left in their pockets and the tools that they had in their hands, then I think that’s a tradition we’re celebrating and saving and bringing back to life.”
Kesterson said she can carve anything in a coin, from the shape of Michigan to a replica of someone’s great grandmother’s handwriting from her old recipe notes to a portrait of your dog
“Once they’re carved, I’ll make them into whatever you want, whether it’s a belt buckle, money clip, bookmarks, keychains or just jewelry, which is the most popular way to do it,” she said. “They’re all done with just pocket change and a 6-inch hand saw. So I don’t use any lasers, no dyes, no stamps. It’s like painting, but with a hand saw on a penny.”
The hours for Jingle & Mingle will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19. For more information, visit undergroundferndale.com.
