Holly Jolly Holidays is making spirits bright at the Oxford Community Market through a monetary donation.
Holly Jolly Holidays spanned 12 days of ice skating at the Old Armory Pavilion, Dec. 1-12 and while the ice-skating rink took over one-half of the space utilized by the Oxford Community Market, Visit Oxford committed to giving back to the local non-profit.
“When deciding where we could set up an ice-skating rink for two weeks, the Pavilion became the obvious choice. Knowing that the Community Market utilizes the space on Tuesdays, we did not want to encroach on that space, but hopefully, enhance the experience,” said Visit Oxford Executive Director Kinney Ferris.
Holly Jolly Holidays partnered with the Oxford Community Market as the market maintained its normal schedule of operations, being open 3-6:30 p.m. while ice skating took place on the other half of the Pavilion.
The Visit Oxford staff consolidated the ice skating set up so that the market still had plenty of room for its vendors.
“We recognized that the Community Market could benefit from Holly Jolly Holidays so we decided to donate a portion of proceeds from skating that took place during the hours of the market,” Kinney said. “We were pleasantly surprised by the number of people who came out to skate and so happy to be able to donate a sizeable amount to the organization.”
A check was presented to Betsy Chapman, director of the Oxford Community Market, in the amount of $500 on Dec. 14.
In addition to the monetary donation, Chapman reached out to Visit Oxford about donating skate passes for a local family who is the beneficiary of a “Holly Jolly Christmas Surprise.”
“We are grateful for this contribution which will help support our community-based programs to improve access to healthy, fresh food and help us continue to provide our community with a vibrant public marketplace that attracts visitors from across north Mississippi,” Chapman said.
Staff report
