Slow start for Christmas Village

The Christmas Village on the Milford Road Esplanade got off to a slow start on Monday with many vendors, hoping for a bigger turnout, said, however, that that they have high hopes that more customers will come to their booths as the week progresses.

Seventy-three entrepreneurs have been invited to be a part of the Christmas Village.

Farmer Lecitus Edwards, one of the entrepreneurs, did manage to get some sales, but he was mindful that consumers did not have much money to spend.

“People are crying broke right now, things are hard. I still got some sales today, but I don’t think my produce is what the tourist wants to buy to take back on the ship. The crafts and other things would sell faster.”

Carol Brown of Zahar Cold Pot said the idea of the Christmas Village was perfect, but she was no so pleased with her location, off the path of traffic. She was still optimistic, though, that sales will improve as the week goes on.

Owner of the ice-cream shop, J’s Delight, was not making any predictions but expected the venture to work well.

“The Christmas Village started slowly but I know by Wednesday things will look up. It is good to give local products a push and this is our push,” she said.

Meanwhile, regular tenants of the Esplanade shops also reported slow sales, and suggested the need for better marketing so the public will be aware of the event.

“The sales may or may not increase during the week. I know for sure the other tenants here were not excited as they did not see an increase in traffic today, so they closed up early,” said one tenant.

Another Esplanade tenant, operator of Ioma’s Bar said the Christmas Village was “a good gesture but it should have been done with the tenants together. I don’t think much money will be generated during this event.”