Mon, 11/27/2017 - 8:15am

Downeast Brass will play holiday favorites before and after the fireworks on Wiscasset’s Main Street (Creamery) Pier on Thursday, Dec. 7. Courtesy of Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce.

Woodfield Farm’s horse-drawn wagon will provide complimentary shuttle service in Wiscasset Village on Saturday, Dec. 9, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., stopping at pop-up shops. Courtesy of Ann Scanlan

Gingerbread houses and cookies and other confectionery delights will be available at the Farm & Garden Gifts pop-up shop during Wiscasset Holiday Marketfest. Courtesy of Kahren’s Kitchen

Downeast Brass will play holiday favorites before and after the fireworks on Wiscasset’s Main Street (Creamery) Pier on Thursday, Dec. 7. Courtesy of Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce.

Woodfield Farm’s horse-drawn wagon will provide complimentary shuttle service in Wiscasset Village on Saturday, Dec. 9, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., stopping at pop-up shops. Courtesy of Ann Scanlan

Gingerbread houses and cookies and other confectionery delights will be available at the Farm & Garden Gifts pop-up shop during Wiscasset Holiday Marketfest. Courtesy of Kahren’s Kitchen

A fireworks display over the Sheepscot River at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7 kicks off the second annual winter shopping celebration, Wiscasset Holiday Marketfest. The best vantage point for viewing the sparkling night sky will be the Main Street (Creamery) Pier on Route 1. Santa will be on the pier from 5 to 7 p.m. and the Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce will be serving hot chocolate throughout the evening.

Downeast Brass, with its joyful, brassy sound, will perform holiday favorites.

Marketfest runs from Thursday, Dec. 7 through Sunday, Dec. 10, and features three pop-up shops, in locations throughout the Village, to add even more variety to holiday shopping. The pop-ups, in the Congregational Church, Nickels-Sortwell barn, and 49 Water St.,will be open Friday and Saturday, Dec. 8 and 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Nickels-Sortwell barn is also open Sunday, Dec. 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Shoppers will find Maine-made crafts in the fellowship hall at First Congregational Church UCC, 28 High St., with plenty of parking behind the church. Congregation members will be baking breakfast treats and pastries, and serving lunch selections of chili and sandwiches during the sale. Fleece capes, shawls, wraps, headbands and scarves by PS Designs, splint baskets by Ned Baxter of Hope Springs Baskets, and whimsical soft sculpture animals, birds and sea life by Amy and Phyllis Mussman of Mainely Primsicals are a few of the vendors who will be at the church.

Another pop-up shop, Farm & Garden Gifts, will be in the Nickels-Sortwell barn on Federal Street. Stop in before or after touring the historic Nickels-Sortwell House, decorated for the season, at 121 Main St. Vendors in the barn include Carriage House Gardens, Mindful Gardens, the Morris Farm Store, and Kahren’s Kitchen. On Saturday, Sarah’s Café sets up a Tidbit Station with complimentary mini-grilled cheese sandwiches and hot tomato soup shots from noon to 3 p.m. On Sunday, Santa and Mrs. Claus visit the barn from noon to 3 p.m. Complimentary warm cider will be available continually for Farm & Garden shoppers.

A storefront at 49 Water St. has been converted into the Marketfest’s Wearable Art Studio, a two-day shop for very special clothing and jewelry. Chris Hopf-Lovette returns this year with her Asian Accents jackets and purses. Claudia Sortwell and Sally Gemmill offer their individual styles of handcrafted jewelry, and Elaine Pew will be showing coats and jackets created from exotic fabrics gathered on her world travels.

The pop-up shops are within easy walking distance of the Village center, but can also be reached via Woodfield Farm’s horse-drawn wagon, circulating through the Village on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Village stores and galleries will be open during Marketfest from 10 a.m.to 6 p.m. or later each day, offering gift ideas, music and munchies. Find event information at www.wiscassetholidaymarketfest.com. The event is sponsored by the Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce. Major sponsors are Camden National Bank, Carl M.P. Larrabee Agency, Carriage House Gardens, Greg’s Used Cars, Norm’s Used Cars, Red’s Eats, Sheepscot Bay Physical Therapy, Tim Dunham Realty, and Wiscasset Ford. Additional support comes from Cod Cove Inn and Midcoast Credit Union.