Juneau Public Market

Alaska’s premier holiday gifts, arts & crafts show

SPECIAL NOTICE: The 40th annual Juneau Public Market is now accepting vendor applications for the 2022 Thanksgiving weekend, three-day event on Friday through Sunday, November 25, 26, 27. For market hours and operating protocols please see FAQs.

If you wish to participate as a vendor in 2022, please select menu item “ONLINE APPLICATION.” 

Veteran vendors talk about their experiences at the Juneau Public Market:

VENDOR INFORMATION… Returning vendors, please send an email to inform us of your intent to participate; prospective vendors, complete the online application, which must include a full description of the products you intend to offer at the Market.

Hours of operation: We set up from 4 pm to 8 pm on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, and continue set up the day after, Friday 8:00 a.m. to noon, when we open to the public. Breakdown begins shortly after 5 p.m. on Sunday. 

At Centennial Hall, we charge admission to the Public Market; admission is free at the Public Market Annex (JACC).

Since admission is charged to enter the Public Market in Centennial Hall, we favor vendors who respond to the criteria for assignments outlined in FAQs. 

At the no-admission-charged Public Market Annexes, assignments are  made on a first-to-apply/first-to-choose basis.

All vendors are expect to offer only products and services that are legal, safe, and event-appropriate. For more, see FAQs.

Only at the Public Market… Items for sale typically include a wide variety of jewelry and Alaska Native arts; the latest in fashionable attire and custom made outdoor wear; home decorations and original art; utensils such as knives, ulus, and hand carved serving spoons; sport fishing and outdoor gear; gift-quality foods — wild berry products, gourmet chocolates, raw honey, smoked salmon, herbal teas, and kelp & seaweed condiments; holiday gift packages, a selection of toys, classic Alaska photography and recently published books. Our motto is “Only at the Public Market,” since most of our crafters and artists present their products in Juneau only at this show.

A well-served food court provides weary shoppers (and their standby assistants) a place to sit to enjoy an entreé, dessert, and beverages. We also have an espresso bar.

The 2021 Juneau Public Market

We extend our heartfelt appreciation and thanks to our vendors and the public for participating in our most rewarding if challenging market in nearly forty years. While the number of vendors and attendees was down from our peak of 2019, the holiday spirt expressed in the joy of safely assembling was more than satisfying. And equally uplifting was hearing from so many of our long time vendors that their volume of sales met or exceeded previous markets. 

In 2021, we were unable to open our two annexes due to the strict rules for presenting a covid-safe, in-person public event.

We thank the more than 125 vendors who presented at our market over Thanksgiving weekend last year, many traveling to Juneau from all over Alaska and the West Coast: from Dillingham to Bellingham and beyond.

The 2020 Juneau Public Market

The pandemic required us to cancel the 2020 in-person market. Instead, we hosted a virtual market in which approximately 40 vendors participated.

The 2019 & 2018 Juneau Public Markets

These were high water marks for us in attendance and participation of vendors, with over 200 vendors presenting in three venues: the Centennial Hall, Juneau Arts & Culture Center, and Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall. Another dozen vendors presented at the new Alaska State Museum, sponsored by the Friends of the Museum. All venues were linked by a street car we hired to make the rounds every 10 minutes. Vendors came from over 30 communities throughout Alaska and the West Coast to present their products.

ALL JUNEAU PUBLIC MARKETS

The event continually renews itself. We have a consistent turn-over of 25 to 30 percent, which brings new vendors to join the dozens of veteran vendors our customers have come to expect (and voice their disappointment if they are not to be found). For most of us, the Public Market is a treasured social experience. 

Emailed inquiries are welcome: send to petermmetcalfe@gmail.com

OUR HISTORY… The first Alaska-Juneau Public Market was among the initial events to be staged at Juneau’s brand new Centennial Hall and Convention Center, which opened in May 1983.

The annual “Public Market” at Centennial Hall soon became a well-established holiday tradition for the people of Juneau and the surrounding region. In 1990, the Public Market expanded from the Sheffield Ballroom to the entire facility, and in 2007 opened the Public Market Annex at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center (JACC), which shares a parking lot with Centennial Hall. In 2018, we expanded once again, this time to the Public Market Annex II at the newly renovated Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall (the former ANB Hall). 

Contact us for more information: petermmetcalfe@gmail.com  or write to: Juneau Public Market, P.O. Box 021145, Juneau AK 99802