VISTA — Krampus, St. Nicholas, the haunting Mari Lwyd and other figures from European folklore will take over downtown Vista in a couple of weeks as the third annual Dark Xmas Market returns to celebrate unique holiday customs from around the world.
The market, also known as the Wild Hunt of Vista Krampus Run, celebrates European winter folklore and tradition. The event is a collaboration between Vista community art space Backfence Society and Twisted Heart Puppetworks founder Tania Yager.
This year’s event will feature upward of 40 vendors with gothic-inspired crafts and other goods, a children’s area, cider from Twisted Horn Mead & Cider, a scavenger hunt, and the “wild hunt procession” featuring Krampus — the demon-esque counterpart to St. Nicholas of Germanic and Austrian folklore who punishes bad children — and other creatures from Welsh, Scandinavian, and Bavarian winter lore.
The idea for the event started in 2021 after Yager held a solo show with her work at Backfence Society. Both Yager and Backfence Executive Director Sarah Spinks share a love for the traditional holiday markets in Germany, and the two decided to expand the event to celebrate different folkloric holiday traditions.
“We thought, wouldn’t it be cool if we did a market and had vendors and had Krampus running through the street?” Yager said.
The first year exceeded expectations, drawing around 1,000 people. Since then, the event has grown in popularity and draws visitors from all over the region, with nearly 3,000 attendees last year.
A main feature of the market is the wild hunt procession, which blends the concept of the mythical wild hunt — a raucous procession of spirits on winter nights, rooted in myths from across Europe and, most notably, Scandinavia — and the Bavarian Krampus run (Krampuslauf), which re-enacts the tradition of St. Nicholas and Krampus traveling through the streets to visit families.
Along with being entertaining to watch, cosplayers who frequent the Renaissance Fair or the Vista Viking Festival have another chance to dress up and enter a new world.
This year, Yager said she is focused on increasing the quality of the event to make it even more memorable. In addition to cosplayers in impressive costumes, the wild hunt procession will feature large ornate puppets depicting folkloric characters.
Yager and a team of other artists have spent upwards of 100 hours on one of the puppets depicting St. Nicholas (a representation distinct from the modern Santa Claus), who will be walking through the streets and engaging with the audience.
“We wanted to give people some spectacle and some street theater,” Yager said. “It’s been a giant labor of love, which has been fantastic.”
Spinks said this event represents exactly what Backfence hopes to promote — creativity and bringing people together.
“I think Tania does a great job as an artist, having a creative vision for the event. She has a way of organizing people around this event, and the enthusiasm for the event is palpable,” Spinks said.
The Dark Xmas Market is also a way to show love to local businesses, from the brick and mortars downtown to the vendors themselves.
Twisted Horn Mead & Cider along La Mirada Court has served their libations at the Dark Xmas Market for the past two years. Owner Vince Obarski said that although their business isn’t in downtown Vista, the market is a great opportunity to reach more customers and engage with the community.
“It’s good to be involved in events where it’s community-based; in other words, not just shutting up in watching the football game. It really brings a lot of people together to have them experience things they’ve never really experienced before,” Obarski said.
This year, Twisted Horn will serve cider inside Backfence Society and in an outdoor vendor booth.
While the folkloric imagery of the event may seem intense to the uninitiated, Yager said the goal is to engage the community in learning about different customs and traditions in a fun and creative way. She emphasized that the event is completely family-friendly, with several children walking in the procession with their parents.
In the weeks leading up to the market, Yager has also been holding lectures about Alpine traditions and the folklore that forms the basis of many Christmas traditions. Backfence Society has also held crafting events, where people of all ages can make puppets for the procession.
“Something that I’m really proud of is the level of civic engagement for this event that’s once a year. The amount of engagement that’s happening, and community building, it’s really fabulous,” Yager said.
The free event will take place from 4 to 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 14 at Backfence Society, 110 South Citrus Avenue. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP on Eventbrite at rb.gy/p0qaua.
