A highly successful International Christmas Market was held at the Chicago Eesti Maja (CEM). Nearly 400 people passed through the seven-hour event held on the first cold weekend of the season. It consisted of approximately 40 vendors selling their wares while numerous groups provided live entertainment. It was perhaps the most activity at CEM in a decade. At its peak there were over 100 cars parked on the Estonian House property.
The Market achieved numerous purposes. First, it heralded the beginning of the holiday season at CEM attracting people who lingered for hours after the end of the Market. Second it afforded an opportunity to purchase some truly unique holiday gifts. Third, numerous vendors visited CEM for the first time and some may desire to host their own functions in the future, such as an antique show, at our House. Fourth, it brought people to CEM who were unaware of its locations and they discovered its prospects as a party facility, something that we need to promote as we continue to struggle to cover ongoing costs.
CEM is at the end of Estonian Lane, a modest little-traveled dead-end road off of Milwaukee Avenue in north suburban Chicago. Milwaukee Avenue (US Route 45) has approximately 35,000 vehicle passing by the Estonian Lane turn-off on an average day.
CEM typically goes unnoticed by all these motorists so it tends not to be well known to the average person but it is, nevertheless, exceedingly accessible. The Market went a long way to introducing CEM to the larger Chicago suburban community. Over time it has become increasingly necessary for us to reach out to a larger audience including the ethnic Balts and Nordic people that live in the region. Already the Chicago Finnish community is a vital part of the Estonian House and the Norwegian choir practices and holds their festivals at CEM.
Finally, the Market generated a considerable amount of much-needed revenue for CEM making it perhaps the most lucrative single event this year.
Several board members started the process and solicited an army of volunteers. They attracted vendors from a variety of ethnic organizations, created effective publicity, organized the hall layout, assisted with parking, prepared food for the event and so forth. Dozens of volunteers were involved. The Market was a contemporary remake of the CEM Holiday Market many decades ago.
A key element of its success was the ability to bring in vendors and their followers from numerous ethnic organizations, many of whom live in the vicinity. CEM is located in Lake County; Chicago is in Cook County. The most recent U.S. Census estimates Lake County residents of the following ethnic ancestry: 50 Estonians, 400 Latvians, 3200 Lithuanians, 2200 Finns, 3000 Danes, 7400 Norwegians and 11,750 Swedes. All of these nationalities were represented at the Market.
A particularly memorable dimension of the Market was the variety and quality of live entertainment offered. There was a ongoing stream of different groups performing on the stage while shoppers either continued inspecting merchandise or focused on the action on the stage. The entertainment began with a performance by an accomplished cellist, Brendan Tarm (His older brother, Jonas, had a premiere performance of his piece, Aeg, in New York the same day). This was followed by singing performances and then three different folk dance troupes, representing Lithuania and two different Scandi-navian groups. The final act was another memorable performance by our own Tuuletargad (Wind Wizards) group (https://www.facebook.com/tuuletargad ). The entertainment added a special touch to the entire event.
One of the vendors sent an email that summed up the day well: “What a great day it was! Great organization for the day! From arrival, with help unloading my car, beautifully decorated Estonian House, so many vendors and great items, wonderful entertainment, good lunch, and such a crowd!”
Text and photos by:
Siim Sööt
