BY KAYLEIGH FREEMAN
FOR THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — The third annual Christmas Market on the Square will be hosted Dec. 6 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Opelika’s Courthouse Square.
Christmas Market on the Square is a free-admission event hosting small business vendors and a variety of holiday festivities, such as free face painting and pre-filled stockings, photos with Mr. and Mrs. Clause and letter writing to the North Pole.
“I would just like people to come out in fellowship,” said event founder and host Alexis Meniefield. “We meet a lot of people. It’s always a fun time.”
The event will host to 30 vendors offering a wide variety of products, such as crocheted items, personalized T-shirts, permanent jewelry, homemade soaps, baked goods and more.
For the children, there will be 250 free pre-filled stockings containing goodies and toys, as well as free face painting.
“Christmas for some families is not as joyous as it can be for others, and I personally would like to make sure if I do nothing else, I can give something,” said Meniefield, who funds the event.
Alabama’s tallest Christmas tree will be at the center of it all, as the 72-foot tree returns to Opelika for its second year. The Christmas Market event will utilize the “Letters to Santa” mailbox located next to the tree by providing a station for the children to write their letters bound for the North Pole.
Unique to this year’s event, Christmas Market on the Square will have a coat and shoe giveaway, where attendees will have the opportunity to choose from an assortment of community-donated coats and shoes.
Meniefield began hosting annual events for the Opelika community after recieving an overwhelming amount of support for her and her son when he began selling lemonade.
“This community was so supportive of us — we were actually going through a rough time at that time — and we had people from Opelika, Auburn, Chambers County, just everyone coming here to support my son and me,” Meniefield said.
The community’s strong support drove her to create the Kids Community Market in 2023, an annual summer event supporting 65 “mini entrepreneurs” as they sell their handmade goods.
“I felt like someone did it for me, and there’s thousands of ‘me’ in the world,” Meniefield said. “So, can I be somebody’s change?”
In the same year, Meniefield also began hosting the Fall Festival, offering free pumpkins, face painting, games and more. On Oct. 11, the third annual Fall Festival was hosted.
All three events are free admission and hosted at Opelika’s Courthouse Square.
Meniefield’s events have brought positive, long-lasting impacts on both attendees and vendors, empowering Meniefield to continue hosting each year.
“I had a vendor that recently opened a business in Opelika, and when I followed up with all of my vendors, she told me, ‘Hey, I made enough money to keep my shop open for one more month, and I did not have it. We were about to close down,’” Meniefield said. “That just makes me keep going.”
After two years of Christmas Market on the Square, Meniefield is excited to return once again as a way to give back to the Opelika community.
“The [past two events] have turned out absolutely amazing,” Meniefield said. “I am most proud of the parents bringing their children out, because without the parents, we can’t reach the kids.”
To make a donation for the coats and shoes giveaway, please contact Alexis Meniefield at (334) 740-5374.
