East Dearborn's City Hall Artspace Lofts bazaar offers local, one-of-a-kind gifts

With the passage of Thanksgiving, the traditional holiday shopping season has begun. For all of the shopping options out there, a relatively new tenant of East Downtown Dearborn is making a play for consumers' holiday shopping attention.

The first annual City Hall Artspace Lofts Holiday Bazaar opened Saturday, November 26 and will continue the next three Saturdays. Featuring work from the artist tenants of the City Hall Artspace Lofts live/work space, the CHAL Holiday Bazaar offers a wide range of local, handmade arts and crafts gift ideas.

"We want to encourage people to come to the bazaar and shop local," says Event Director Julia Kapilango. "These are one-of-a-kind, quality-made items."

Pieces include handmade jewelry, sculptures, textiles, glass dolls, and visual arts. Some of the artists have made holiday-specific items, including ornaments, textiles, and jewelry. The bazaars will feature live entertainment from dancers, Djs, and bands. There is also a metal pour and mold workshop.

The City Hall Artspace Lofts occupy the former Dearborn City Hall, which left for a more central location. The lofts, which are designed as live/work spaces for artists, opened earlier this year.

"This is about building community and inviting people into the Artspace Lofts so they can see what's happening both in there and in Dearborn," says Kapilango. "This is an attractive place for millenials and we want them to see it firsthand. We want to create opportunities for the artists to teach, train, and empower."

The City Hall Artspace Lofts Holiday Bazaar is occurring on the Saturdays of December 3rd, 10th, and 17th. It is open from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and is free to attend.

The City Hall Artspace Lofts campus is located at 13615 Michigan Ave. in Dearborn. The bazaar is located in the annex side of City Hall, at the intersection of Maple and Nagy.

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