During the holiday season, the heart of Denver is transformed into a cozy, charming German-style market with wooden huts, festive lights and holiday music. The Denver Christkindlmarket has called Civic Center Park home for the past three years. However, the lingering question is, why was the Mile High City chosen to be home to the German-style event? After all, only 20-30% of Coloradans have German heritage and only 23,000 households speak German as a primary language.
To answer the question, Bucket List talked to Samantha Tillner, executive director of the Colorado chapter of the German American Chamber of Commerce, or GACC. The organization produces the annual market and promotes German trade with Colorado through professional and cultural programs year-round. The proposal for the market came from their headquarters in Chicago where they have a bigger German chamber office.
“Culture is a big part of international exchange and trade promotion. It’s a great basis for us to be able to bring German culture to Denver and have that exposure for all communities is really important,” she said. “They had done a Christkindlmarket [in Chicago] for five years before we started ours, and so we thought, ‘Denver is our hometown, let’s try out a market here!’”
Tillner said a market of this size takes 365 days to prepare, a large undertaking for the nonprofit with only three full-time employees. They are currently working on the mug design for 2024 and many other aspects that need to be planned months ahead.
Through the years, the market has moved locations. The first iteration began in 1998 as a smaller week-long event in the Denver Pavilions. In the following years, the event was relocated to a parking lot at Cherry Creek Mall and eventually moved to Skyline Park off 16th Street Mall. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Tillner said the Colorado GACC’s board of directors decided to move to a place with more space for vendors to abide by the six-foot rule.
“We could either lay off our entire staff and pause the year or try to hold a market with all the COVID regulations,” Tillner said. “But we needed a bigger space and that’s how we ended up in Civic Center Park because it had the space, and we could spread out.”
The market has become home to over 40 vendors, which offer customers a variety of European-crafted artisan gifts, delicious holiday treats and traditional beverages like Glühwein, a warm beverage made of spices and red or white wine served in a commemorative mug. The drink is imported from Germany every year specifically for the Denver event.
“Typically, we run out towards the end of the market. It’s the number one drink in Germany for any Christmas market and it’s also our best-seller, everyone comes to drink the Glühwein,” Tillner said.
Another popular item sold at the market is handmade ceramic candle houses provided by Andrey’s Gifts from Afar. Owner Andrey Shaptala has been a vendor at the market since the beginning. When the GACC decided to bring German-style Christmas markets to the U.S., they traveled to Nuremberg, Germany, known for its largest and oldest Christmas market. During their visit, they asked Shaptala and other German companies to travel to Chicago and help recreate events like the ones in Nuremberg.
“For me as a vendor who has been here since the very first time, every time I come here I find something interesting which I would like to buy for myself. Every year it’s a little different with different vendors,” Shaptala said. “We are like a little family, helping each other, so it’s a pleasure to participate in this market.”
Shaptala lives in Ukraine with his family and travels to Denver to participate in the market every holiday season. His business is divided into two wooden huts. One hut houses their popular ceramic houses and matryoshka dolls, while the other shows off a variety of wooden and glass Christmas figurines. He said he travels to different parts of the world and when he finds something interesting, he brings it back to sell at his markets.
“I would advise anyone coming into the market to not only buy stuff but to also talk to the vendors because the vendors here are very interesting people,” Shaptala said. “They have their stories; they can tell you something interesting about their product or their culture.”
During the application process, the GACC prioritizes small and local businesses that offer German or European Christmas products. The exposure of the market has helped some small vendors go from having side hustles to full-time jobs and for some a brick-and-mortar business. Tillner said this is what they are striving for and are proud of what the market has done for some of these businesses.
“We have approximately 290,000 people coming through the market. That’s a lot of exposure for sure and those gifts that are purchased here end up under the Christmas tree. So, it’s really nice to be able to support those small businesses,” she said.
Along with the market—which runs until Dec. 23—stands the Mile High Tree and the City and County building lights display which has made the heart of Denver a Christmas wonderland.
“The market is free and open to the public, which is important to us,” Tillner said. “It’s a community event we want everyone to be able to enjoy. You can walk around, window shop, play games, look at lights and enjoy free entertainment, that’s all free. I think that growth in Civic Center Park just comes from the great synergies.”
“So many people are just interested in staying in touch with German heritage but it’s also for other communities to experience something new,” Tillner said. “It’s always fun to experience. It doesn’t matter if you’re going to a German Christmas market or Cinco de Mayo celebration, you go to those because you’re seeing something that is different without having to travel super far to experience those different cultures.”