BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The jolliest shopping event of the season has come to Black Mountain. The Holly Jolly block party is back.
The Holly Jolly celebration will run from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6 in downtown Black Mountain. The local tradition, held on the first Friday of December every year, invites shoppers to come visit, mingle and eat bountiful supplies of cookies at every shop in Black Mountain.
While Holly Jolly is always a festival full to the brim with things to do, including watching performances by local musical groups and visiting with Santa Claus, this year has more than usual. Hurricane Helene battered Black Mountain, but Holly Jolly is evidence that the mountain community is thriving after the storm.
“This year there’s actually a parade of first responders that are coming down Cherry St. along with Santa Claus,” said Sarah Vekasi, owner and potter at Sarah Sunshine Pottery. “There’s a lot of events. Many more than typical, due to the hurricane.”
Every year, Vekasi gives out cookies for Holly Jolly and fires up extra pottery to sell. It was trickier for her to prepare for the event this year with the delays caused by Helene, especially considering the sheer quantity of things she needed to make.
“I wasn’t able to be open or have access to my studio for many weeks due to the trees falling on the structures and the power outage and the extended water outage,” Vekasi reflected. “Everything’s a challenge for all of us.”
Even with the roadblocks Helene caused in her work, Vekasi will let nothing stop her from celebrating Holly Jolly the way she wants.
“This year I will definitely still have all the cookies and the decorations,” she laughed. “We’re all doing everything we can to put on a good Holly Jolly this year.
Vekasi’s cookies are a vital piece of the Holly Jolly experience.
“We usually give away between two and 3,000 cookies handmade cookies,” Vekasi said.
She bakes some herself – ginger molasses treats are her delicious specialty – and has other friends and community members drop their contributions by her shop in the week leading up to Holly Jolly. There are all sorts, including options for gluten-free and vegan diets.
She gives them all away for free.
That’s the spirit of Holly Jolly, Vekasi says. It’s more about coming together as a community than making sales.
“Holly Jolly’s like a big party for downtown businesses,” Vekasi explained. “All the treats are free and then, of course, we welcome people to shop. Lots of people, it’s more like an evening of planning what you’re going to buy and going into stores and just having a really good time with your families and friends.”
For more information about Holly Jolly, visit the event Facebook page. For more about Sarah Sunshine Pottery, visit Vekasi’s website, www.sarahsunshinepottery.com.
