Juneau Public Market
Alaska’s premier holiday gifts, arts & crafts show
In 2023, join us on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 24, 25, 26, at the newly renovated Juneau Centennial Hall and Convention Center and at our second venue, the JACC (Juneau Arts & Culture Center).
2023 VENDOR INFORMATION… Returning vendors, beginning March 15, 2023, please send an email to inform us of your intent to participate; prospective vendors, please complete the online application, which must include a full description of the products you intend to offer at the Market.
All vendors are expected to only offer 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.
Veteran vendors talk about their experiences at the Juneau Public Market:
Posted on Friday, October 22, 2021
2022 Public Market: We extend our deepest appreciation to the community of Juneau and our friends from surrounding communities for making the 40th annual Juneau Public Market truly a wonderful holiday experience. 2020 and 2021 were tough years for all of us, so it was especially rewarding to see so many people at the 2022 event in such happy spirits.
Many of our vendors told us they did better at the 2022 Public Market than they have at any venue, ever!
One aspect of our market that is becoming ever more evident is the desire of shoppers to have person-to-person interactions with vendors who often are the crafters of the products they sell — much more rewarding that on-line purchases.
The 2021 Juneau Public Market
This was our most rewarding if challenging market in nearly forty years. In 2021, we were limited to Centennial Hall since we were unable to open our two annexes due to the strict rules for presenting a Covid-safe, in-person public event.
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.
We thank the more than 125 vendors who presented at our market over the 2021 Thanksgiving weekend, 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 1989, the Public Market expanded from the Sheffield Ballroom to the entire facility, and in 2007 we 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