Holidazzle Village

These other reviewers are grinches.
Not carrying cash? Rookie move. This is an outdoor market, not walmart. Plus every vendor i went to took credit cards. You could argue its a little cramped, but it adds to the market feel.
Its a fun christmas experience. The food is good and vibe is happy. Well done by Minneapolis to orgnize this event.

After checking out the website for the market, I still had no idea there was an admission price! In my mind, this completely defeats the purpose of a MARKET. I ended up spending no more money there, because the whole thing felt like a joke. Being herded into a gated marketplace is not an experience I would recommend to anyone. I was very disappointed by the whole situation.

I have been driving past this Village every day headed home from work and was excited to go. I have to say that I tried to have an open mind, but even the local news didn’t have anything positive to say about it after week 1. I decided that buying a Groupon to save money was the best option. There were many mini wooden-​like houses filled with unique gifts and crafts. Many of the vendors had things I hadn’t seen before, but I really couldn’t think of anyone I could gift it to. Another factor was the high prices. I am not sure the novelty of it all was enough for me to pay $ 45 for a glazed mug.
We decided to give some of the food vendors a try. The set up of the Village is pretty adorable with all the lights at night. We made our way to the gazebo, where a young women was playing holiday music with her acoustic guitar and NO coat! (After a few songs she ran into the heated tent to get it!) Most offered a taste of their products. The roasted and cinnamon nuts were amazing! I bought the beer cheese soup in a pretzel bowl for $ 8. The soup was watery, but the pretzel bowl was not bad. Ask for a side of soup or cheese to dip the remaining pretzel in after the soup is gone.
Also, the baked cheese was by far my favorite. There were many flavors, like jalapeño, pizza, garlic and bacon. The more you buy, the price drops-​5 blocks for $ 25. If you get cold or want to drink a beer, head to the very back. The big white tent is heated with tables and benches!
Once you pay, the tickets are reusable as season passes. I would say, once was enough for me to say I gave it a try. Save your money…

This venue just gives you that real life, surreal, unforgettable experience of what it’s like to celebrate Christmas in fucking hell.
Twas several nights before Christmas, when all through the line
Not a creature was moving, it took a long time;
The tickets were purchased and handled with care,
In hopes that fun times would be in there…
Well there wasn’t. Just a crowded maze of shitty Scandinavian trinket shops bearing overpriced gifts of shit that you could probably find at a thrift store. And what the fuck is with the ticket?! You should’ve paid me to go into that fucking particle board slum village to shop. Gee I hope that big bearded man can convince me to spend $ 35.00 on a hand carved wooden snowflake, because that’s what I need in my life right now, a hand carved wooden fucking snowflake.
If you’ve seen the small park next to orchestra hall then you know as well as I do that it’s just a bunch of stairs. That’s where they built this damn thing. Seriously who the hell constructs a village on top of a bunch of fucking stairs?! You’re taking homes away from perfectly good homeless people!
I had to apologize to my children for bringing them here.
This is the kind of village that you don’t feel sorry for when a group of armed men pillage it and burn it to the ground.
Seriously though… fuck this village.
The end.

Holidazzle fizzle
What a mess. Full disclaimer… we did not actually get to visit the market because of the long lines.
Thought that this would be a fun pre-​dinner adventure in downtown Minneapolis and had high hopes that it might approximate the European Christmas Markets. It sure didn’t appear to be anything close.
We arrived at about 6 PM on a Saturday and found the line waiting to pay to get in the small area more than a block long and then it doubled back on the sidewalk. Tried to get a look at what was inside but was only able to get a glimpse of the Nutcracker booth at the North end. We knew that there was admission and would have paid it just to experience this first attempt at a revamped winter event in the city but there was no way that we were going to wait that long in line to pay to get into a place to shop and pay more.
People were trying to embrace this and enjoy themselves but we watched as people abandoned the line and left the area in disgust.
The concept should work but the execution is way off. In my opinion, it should be modeled after the highly successful art fairs in Uptown and Edina. Spread out more of the little shops and kiosks over a larger area on the mall. There should be no admission, there should be nightly free events to attract people. How about a skating rink like the one near Rice park in St. Paul? So many marketing opportunities that were lost. I hope that someone from the Downtown Council gets a clue and takes a vastly different approach in the future.

Quit playing games with my heart, Holidazzle Illuminati. When I heard that last year’s parade was the final one, I was very much distressed. The Holidazzle Parade has been a longstanding and fantastic tradition for me (and every other Minnesotan in the world). So when I heard they were turning it into a village and Christmas market, I was thrilled! I imagined the parade floats lining Nicollet Mall, mulled wine and hot cider flowing freely, delicious food, and Santa Claus schmoozing with the crowd. In essence, I imagined the State Fair’s smaller winter counterpart.
Alas, my hopes and dreams were crushed when I ventured into the village last Thursday evening. For starters, they only take cash. Luckily I had $ 30, but there wasn’t an ATM outside the market, so if you don’t have cash, you can’t get inside. In addition, the wine costs $ 10.15 and is a miniscule portion. Yeah, you get a souvenir mug, but I can go to the dollar store and buy 4 Christmas mugs and then get a whole bottle of wine for the same price. Much of the food is similarly overpriced, as are the gifts and candies for sale.
Yes, it was festive and Christmas-​y, but it didn’t measure up to the parade in the least. If you bring your own beverages from home, it might be nicer. Luckily the «season pass» is just a receipt, so you can pass it around to other people who are going on different nights. After getting over my initial disappointment, I came to terms with it. It was very truly a «meh» event. Not awful, but not great. I might try to give it another chance because I don’t want to believe it’s so sub par.
If you go with the right (low) expectations and a stack of cash, it might be fun. Just be warned, it bears no resemblance to the Holidazzle Parade.

Oh, where do I begin? On the positive side, it’s a really good idea. Done right, this thing could work. But the execution is nothing short of horrible. Here are the top four things that are wrong with Holidazzle Village (in no particular order):
1) Cost. They charge $ 6 to enter an area where you buy stuff. My wife and I had a mulled wine at $ 11 per cup (after taxes). So for $ 34, we stood outside and had a cup of warm wine. I can do that in my driveway at a fraction of the cost.
2) The space. Way too small. We went at an off time, and still couldn’t get near most of the kiosks to buy stuff. We actually were interested in buying some ornaments, but the wait to get into the main shopping tent was at least an hour.
3) Layout. With more space it might have made more sense, but as it was, we just kept on getting caught up in random lines. I’m unsure how an older person or someone in a wheelchair would handle it.
4) Make it family friendly. Just having a carousel doesn’t cut it. Broadly, the scene was a bunch of adults standing around drinking booze.
How to improve it? Two ideas: First, don’t charge an entry fee. If they make this thing work, they will get far more from me than the $ 34 they got yesterday. Second, move it onto Nicollet mall. Spread it out over multiple blocks, with plenty of strolling and standing room. You won’t need warming tents because people could step into stores (which is kind of the point I think). Use the fall Nicollet Mall Farmers Market as the template (though actually shutting down Nicollet Mall to traffic would be better.
Net, keep the idea and keep the vendors (the food and merchandise looked pretty good — if you could actually get to it). But overhaul the entire execution for next year.

Just got back from the new Holidazzle celebration.
It’s stupid. Bring back the parade please!

«E» for effort. I give the council praise for trying something new and maybe as time goes on it will get better, but I most likely will not return to recoup my $ 6 entrance fee. Yes, it’s a «season pass», but there really is no reason for me to return unless I’m in the mood to feel like sardine.
The place is poorly laid out in my opinion, packed and nearly impossible to move around. It would be nice if people left their strollers in the designated stroller area. We contemplated bringing ours and glad we didn’t. What a cluster…
Vendors selling food, drinks and little ornaments.
The concept is nice. Trying to emulate the mart in Chicago perhaps? Daley Plaza vs, Peavey… Peavey is way too crammed.
For the entrance fee, it wasn’t worth it for my party at least, but like one person in our party said, «you won’t know until you go.»
Not our cup of tea, but an «E» for effort.

I applaud the effort Mpls made, but for me, it was a holifizzle.
Went to the Village on a weekday afternoon. At the ticket booth the ticket sellers were confused, and disagreed about, the price of entry.
Once inside, the first purchase I tried to make, I was told «it’s cash only.»
(It was only as I was leaving that a different vendor told me there was an ATM somewhere.)
The cheerless, plywood vendor huts look like a Potemkin Village.
Google «German Christmas Village» and take a look at the images. It’s unreasonable to expect the city to emulate the concept their first year, but this isn’t close. And the very nice folks vending some interesting, appealing items deserve better organization.
Perhaps we should leave outdoor winter events to St. Paul.

While it wasn’t Disneyland, the lines were at least that long, and while it wasn’t the State fair, the beer was more expensive. A real spendy mob scene on the first Saturday when we went. The warming tent and the toilets were free due to an oversight on someone’s part.

I attended the newly transformed Holidazzle Viillage (formerly the long standing Holidazzle Parade and tradition for families for the past 20 years). The Village is featuring a Minneapolis Holiday Market through Dec. 24 that showcases a European shopping experience. You’ll find handcrafted goods, treats, food, and drinks.
I went the first Saturday it opened. Luckily it was a warmer MN day and the high was 35. I brought my 2 year old son since it was supposed to be family friendly.
I quickly realized I didn’t have cash to pay admission, luckily my friend I was meeting there saved me until I could find an ATM. It was $ 6 for adults and didn’t charge for my son. Apprently the admission is for a season pass (you don’t have a choice in the matter). It didn’t seem that official since it’s just a paper receipt they give you.
We started walking through and found vendors selling their «specialities» in huts like roasted nuts, baked goods, candies, beer, cider (NA and hard), handicrafts, and clothing. The vendors we stopped at only accepted cash (maybe this is how the euros do it, but it’s 2014, who carries cash these days??).
Even though it was 35 degrees, it was all in the shade between 11:00 am until 12:45 pm. It got really cold and we found ourselves stopping in the warming tent (close to the stage) a couple times.
After walking around some more, I purchased a warm hard cider (you can only purchase it in a souvenir mug) to help warm me up, it would’ve been an ok memorabilia other than the fact that they must’ve misspelled something on the mug and covered it with another sticker (it totally got ruined in the dishwasher anyway). I also got a brat and fries. They were pretty good.
My son did enjoy the squeaky old carousel close to the entrance (it’s $ 3 per ride or $ 10 for 5 rides). Other than the ride and a marshmallow sample, there wasn’t anything else for him.
We didn’t last long because it was too cold for my little guy and it was tight quarters (not a good place to bring strollers or to bring kids that might not do well in crowds where you’d have to hold them the whole time).
Not sure how this place will do year after year. For how cold our winters can get, I sure hope the vendors find this good for businesses since they have to stick it out outside for a month.
I don’t see our family doing this on an annual basis. I saw it and don’t think I’ll need to see it for awhile.

This year instead of a parade (which was FREE) they have a winter holiday market theme which is $ 6 to get in!!! Are you f^%#ing kidding me!!! Oh, and all of their stalls only accepted cash today. They have two ATMs… BOTH NOT WORKING!
To make matters worse it’s cramped and tight. Hard to move around and they make you stand in line (in the freezing cold) to get inside the «warming tent» which can only fit about a dozen people anyway. STUPID.
Finally, it’s so hidden away (with next to zero advertising) that it was pretty easy to miss and walk straight past.
Seriously, who was the talentless ass-​clown who planned this?! Forrest Gump?!
If it wasn’t for the tasty almond croissant I managed to but with my remaining three bucks of cash (which doesn’t exactly scream ‘Christmas’!) this would have been a total waste of time. At the very least, it’s a disappointing crack-​itch of an event. LAME! Pleeeeeeease get it right next year. It’s a great idea just poorly planned and the less said about the execution the better.