SOMERS POINT — Christmas came to the Somers Mansion for the second year in a row Dec. 2.
The Patriots for the Somers Mansion gathered a wide range of vendors, musical acts and Santa Claus himself to create a day full of Christmas cheer and community.
There were 42 different vendors this year, ranging from different styles of food to wood carvings, farm stands and famous portraits.
Community members from near and far gathered on the lawn beside the mansion, the oldest home in Atlantic County, for a beautiful day of shopping and snacking.
Somers Point residents Maggie and Jerry Nash, along with their young son Kai, make it a point come to every market put on at the mansion.
“It’s nice to have something local to come to, get fresh stuff and support our local community and businesses,” Nash said.
Mary Thompson of Mays Landing said she realized the event was happening as she was leaving Josie Kelly’s Public House across the street.
“My sister and I saw it and thought ‘let’s head over and check it out,’” Thompson said. “I didn’t know it was happening but when we walked over, we saw all the different vendors and heard that it all benefits the mansion, which I thought was just fabulous.”
While proceeds from the day did go to help the mansion, the Patriots for the Somers Mansion’s main goal was to raise awareness about the building to everyone who ventured onto the grounds.
Greg Sykora, vice chairman of the Patriots, said events like the Christmas Market are used to raise awareness and money for building renovations.
Free tours of the mansion were given out all day to entice people to enter and learn more.
Sykora said about 500 people would walk through the mansion in one day while sometimes that’s as many people as they get in one year.
The Patriots for Somers Mansion was founded in 2018 and Sykora said the group got together to give back.
“Our organization and these events are all about getting people aware of the building and what we’re doing,” he said. “This is how we give back. We can’t just stand by and watch things in our community deteriorate so we came together to do something about it.”
In addition to the Christmas Market that Sykora says the organization plans to keep doing each year, there are also farmers markets put on every week in the summer season. These markets are all about bringing the same exposure to the mansion.
Will Boyer manages the summertime farmers markets and was elected to organize the vendors for the Christmas Mart this year. Boyer said it takes hours and hours of phone calls and emails to get all the vendors picked and settled for the event.
“It also comes down to making sure we pick the right vendors,” Boyer said. “We want this to be a Christmas Market not just a flea market, so every vendor is hand-picked.”
Many of the vendors have a personal relationship through Boyer because of the summertime farmers market or were recommended by other vendors. Lots of the vendors were connected to each other and had gotten each other spots in the market this year.
Jack Perry, who sells hand-made wood pieces from his Just Wood booth, is a regular vendor during the summer months. He jumped at the chance to show off his work at the market this year and got his friend Jean Pierre Blanche a spot too.
A Northhhfield resident, Blanche was a star of the day with his creative portraits made from words. He operates Spoken Word Portraits, using song lyrics or words associated with athletes to create a picture of the artist or athlete.
His daughter Angelina Blanche, a former standout goalkeeper for the Mainland Regional High School girls soccer team, handles all of the social media advertising and was at the market to support her father’s business.
While the vendors themselves are all connected in some ways, the positive and friendly energy among the customers also made the day all about community and getting to know others.
Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus (Art and Kelly Barlow of Marmora) were posing for pictures with children all day long.
There was also an old-school style Christmas tree that was placed in the front lawn of the mansion and lit up at the end of the day.
Sykora said this year was even bigger than last and the success gets them excited for more.
By DELANEY CRAWFORD/Special to the Sentinel
