The Student Union welcomed its annual Winter Market to campus from 12-7pm yesterday with festive fun, food and music for all.
Entry was free for those who wanted to put on their hats and gloves and explore the wide array of local businesses out on the squares.
As the sky dimmed the stall lights glowed and our spirits were kept high as Rebel provided the music and engaged with people over the mic, making regular announcements.
For those that wanted to buy their own tunes to play somewhere a little warmer, the CD and record stall had plenty of options to choose from.
The university’s members were there with their own activities, with the V-team both hosting an arts and crafts stall, decorating baubles and collecting donations for the foodbank. The Wellbeing Ambassadors offered festive cheer in the form of candy canes with uplifting messages attached.
If you felt a bit too chilly or just fancied grabbing some merch, SU Store staff were on hand with an array of Essex hoodies to purchase.
Those at the market earlier on in the day saw the Essex Theatre Society give a killer sneak-peak of their Christmas Panto, The Nutcracker (showing Wednesday 14th-Friday 16th; go grab tickets!), along with hosting a stall where you could grab a freshly made crepe.
While SU members, family and friends wandered the stalls, the BBQ stall provided some much needed warm sustenance! If you fancied something sweet however, you certainly weren’t left short of choices.
The event celebrated anyone and everyone with the Brazilian, Italian and Romanian societies, to name a few, offering a selection of traditional baked goodies.
Elsewhere, the Norwegian stall (that you may recognise from our Thursday market) had its usual delightful spread of vegan cakes and pastries on offer with some festive additions.
New to the market was Colin Anthony with TEMPRD, a sustainable handmade chocolate business in Essex.
Fancy trying before you buy, they had an assortment of samples from “Lemon and Blueberry Cheesecake”, to a more seasonal “Gingerbread S’mores”.
Never missing a chance to promote their causes, recently nominated for the Diversity and Inclusion award for Bright Network, WISTEM were selling delicately hand-painted baubles perfect to pop on your tree this Christmas.
The Marine Conservation society joined the market too, stood chatting to students while offering handmade flapjacks and cookies.Â
For the last-minute gift buyers amongst us, there wasn’t just food on offer, but every festive ornament and teddy you could imagine, alongside a jewellery stall with the perfect selection of rings, necklaces and earrings.
To round off the evening many had a go jumping around in the giant inflated snow globe… that’s certainly one way to keep warm!