Big changes are in store for Philadelphia’s Christmas Village and the Made in Philadelphia Holiday Market at LOVE Park and City Hall this holiday season, as proposed accessibility upgrades reshape how vendors will interact with customers.
Accessibility Concerns at the Heart of the Changes
German American Marketing, Inc., the company that operates the village, sent a letter to its Philadelphia vendors outlining new accessibility measures for vendor booths. According to the letter, the company worked last season to bring the village into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, but those adjustments did not work for all visitors.
For this upcoming season, permanent ramps have been proposed for vendor kiosks.
“The ramps would need to be 8′ long with handrails for each kiosk,” the letter to vendors states.
“We don’t want to go into details, but obviously there is no space in the existing walkways, and blocking the entire fronts with handrails will keep foot traffic away from the front of vendor booths. Additional considerations of crowd management and overall event safety are clearly not making this a viable option.”
End of Walk-In Booths
The only remaining option, according to the company, is to make all booths “inaccessible” to customers. That means no more walk-in booths at either the Christmas Village or the Made in Philadelphia Holiday Market. Instead, an entrance barrier will be placed at the front of each booth, requiring vendors to present their products to customers from outside.
Vendors React to the News
Lindsay Gradel, creator of the “Sew Much Cooler” children’s clothing line, set up shop at the Christmas Village two years ago. She is not returning to the market this season, citing multiple reasons.
“There is a step when people come into the booth, so it’s not ADA-compliant,” Gradel said.
After learning about the upcoming changes, Gradel spoke with several other vendors who share her concerns. She noted that booth costs run between $8,000 and $9,000, depending on whether the location is at Dilworth or LOVE Park.
“They decided it’s too much of a risk,” Gradel explained. “We don’t know how our sales are going to be without people being able to walk in to smell our candles, to try on our jewelry, to try on a sweatshirt.”
“Every customer at the holidays, they want to go into the store, and they want to shop. It’s part of it.”
Drew Fisher, owner of the bath and body products company “Color & Flame Handmade,” is also stepping away after three years of selling at the Christmas Village.
“Just the way that we organically interact with the customer. The way the customers find things. People just want to walk in and experience it on their own terms,” Fisher said.
Fisher expressed frustration that the changes were not communicated earlier in the year.
“There are other shows we could have done. And if we found out earlier, we could have applied to them. It’s too late now.”
The Company’s Position
In his letter, Thomas Bauer, President and CEO of German American Marketing, addressed the vendors directly about the difficult decision.
“While I suspect most of you will conclude that it’s an equally worse experience, we really have no other viable option. This is the solution the City feels comfortable with from a legal perspective. We are not overly excited, but decided to offer an experience that is in 100% compliance without having to find out through litigation.”
German American Marketing noted that a select few locations will allow permanent ramps so businesses can “open up.” Both the marketing company and the city have been contacted for additional comment.
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