The Holiday Market celebrated a major milestone this week as owners Julie McCrea and Von Corbett cut the ribbon on the shop’s new, larger location — a move that nearly doubles their vendor capacity and places the expanding business in one of Manning’s busiest corridors.
McCrea said the decision to relocate stemmed partly from renovations at their former building and ongoing construction around Manning’s downtown square. When the opportunity arose to lease a larger space across from Hardee’s at the traffic light on Sunset Drive, she and Corbett felt the timing was right.
“We just knew that we had the opportunity,” McCrea said. “We had all of our vendors except for one come with us, and we brought in about 10 new vendors. It’s probably around 30 total now.”
The Holiday Market moved out of its original location on a Friday and reopened the following Wednesday — the day after Veterans Day — without missing a scheduled business day. The transition, McCrea said, was smooth and quick.
“We all worked together, and everything went very easily,” she said.
The new building offers more space, additional front parking and a large grassy lot on the side. The visibility has led to increased customer traffic, including many residents who said they had never realized the shop was previously located near the post office.
“Everyone that comes in loves it,” McCrea said. “We’ve had people come in who just saw activity in the building, which had been vacant for so long. They had no idea we were even there before.”
Inside, the expanded market winds through a maze of vendor booths and rooms featuring clothing, shoes, jewelry, perfume, food items like Young’s pecans, handmade door hangers, monogrammed children’s clothing, Bible covers, hand-painted Bibles, olive oils, Christmas ornaments, “Fluffies” made for young children, stained-glass art, baked goods, and an antique furniture shop opening on the lower level. New and returning vendors are offering various seasonal specials throughout December, and an open house held last weekend featured sales, Santa and Mrs. Claus, face painting and balloon animals.
This Saturday, Dec. 13, The Holiday Market will host its next holiday event: Meet the Grinch, running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The day will also include Papa’s food truck, face painting and balloon animals.
McCrea and Corbett — lifelong friends who began The Holiday Market as a one-month holiday pop-up in 2020 — say the growth has been both personal and meaningful.
“It means the world to us,” McCrea said. “We’ve been friends since second grade, and we’re grateful to get to do something we absolutely love to do. It feels like we were just meant to be doing this.”
With a one-year lease in place and hopes to renew, the pair plans to continue growing their seasonal events as the business settles into its new home.
“We absolutely love it, and we do not want to have to go,” McCrea said. “We hope customers feel the same welcoming feeling they always have — just now with even more to explore.”
During December, the store extends its schedule to Monday–Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Market’s regular hours from January through November are Tuesday–Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Event updates and more vendor information can be found on the shop’s Facebook page.
