Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1061042
22 UCW DECEMBER 12-18, 2018 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Hope Mills News & Views EARL VAUGHAN JR., Senior Staff Writer. COMMENTS? EarlUCWS- ports@gmail.com. 910-364-6638. Meetings For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113. Until the Parks and Recre- ation building has been repaired following damage from Hurricane Florence, some meetings may be moved to Luther Meeting Room at Town Hall at regular dates and times. ose meetings are noted with an asterisk below. • Historic Preservation Commission Wednesday, Dec. 12, 5 p.m., Parks and Recreation Building* • Mayor's Youth Leadership Committee Monday, Dec. 17, 6 p.m., Front Lobby Meeting Room at Town Hall • Board of Commissioners Monday, Dec. 17, 7 p.m., Bill Luther Meeting Room at Town Hall Activities For more information on these activities, contact Meghan Hawkins at 910-426-4109. • Breakfast with Santa Saturday, Dec. 15, 8:30 a.m., at Hope Mills Fire Station. • Town Offices Closed for the Holidays Monday-Wednesday, Dec. 24-26, and Tuesday, Jan. 1. Promote yourself Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com. CALENDAR German native brings Christmas market experience to Hope Mills by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Hayat Hakim has lived in the Fayetteville-Hope Mills area for the past 10 years, but she still has fond memories of the first 20 years of her life spent grow- ing up in Bonn, Germany. "I was raised going to the German Christmas market every year with my family,'' Hakim said. "We basically celebrated by going with the entire fam- ily. The memories the entire time I was raised in Germany brought such a familiar feeling of commu- nity with me.'' Hakim, who operates Hayat Yoga Shala on Raeford Road, tried to bring the German Christmas market experience on a smaller scale to the stu- dents at her yoga studio four years ago. This year, with the help of Dirtbag Ales Brewery and Taproom, Hakim is putting together a much larger scale event that will be held at Dirtbag's new brewery at 5435 Corporation Dr. in the Gray's Creek community. The market is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 15, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. "Every year at this time, I miss home very much,'' Hakim said. For some time, she's been exploring what could be done to bring a little bit of the German Christmas market feel to this community, which she described as versatile and diverse in cultural aspects. "I realized how much people wanted that experi- ence in their lives; soldiers stationed in Germany, German spouses who came over here with their families," she said. "They all just miss it. That's why we are trying to recreate that good feel.'' An obvious feature of the German Christmas market will be multiple food and drink options. In addition to German-style beer, Hakim plans to offer "glühwein," a German-Austrian after-ski drink. "It's a warmer, sweeter red wine,'' Hakim said. "It has different ingredients like orange and cin- namon and a homemade recipe of sweetness.'' She described it as having a Christmas feeling that warms the whole body. Pastries are also a big part of the German Christmas market experience. A local catering ser- vice will be on hand to provide "lebkuchenherzen," which are gingerbread hearts. A German food truck will be at the market, and an authentic German café will be recreated to offer dishes familiar to the German community. German potato salad will be available, along with assorted types of coffee popular to the German community. In addition to the food offerings, Hakim has commitments from up to 30 vendors for the German Christmas market with a goal of landing as many as 40. "We have a lot of handcrafted vendors,'' she said, "from artists to unique jewelry makers.'' One artist scheduled to appear makes glass orna- ments by hand and will be hand-painting them dur- ing the market. There will also be local farmers on hand with dis- plays of produce. The market will also have a dog park for those who want to bring their pets, as well as a play- ground for children. While some of the vendors will accept credit cards, Hakim suggests people planning to make purchases at the market be prepared to bring cash with them. The event will be held outdoors so Hakim advises patrons to be prepared to dress for whatever weath- er may develop. For further information about the Christmas mar- ket, including details on specific vendors, visit the Dirtbag Ales Brewery and Taproom or the German Christmas Market pages on Facebook. EVENTS Left photo, left to right: Dirtbag Ales staff Nick Demetris, Hope Demetris and Elizabeth Brogan; Hayat Hakim; and Dirtbag Ales co-owner Vernardo Simmons- Valenzuela. The market will feature German food and drink, handpainted ornaments and more.