Mother's Day Market returns to York City

Alexandria Keener Hammond, the owner of My Girlfriend's Wardrobe Consignment Shop, is celebrating Mother's Day in style by hosting a second Mother's Day Market.

The event will be held 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday on North Beaver Street, between West Philadelphia and West Market streets. A variety of vendors will be selling flowers, gifts and other items.

The Olde York Street Fair used to be a staple of Mother's Day celebrations in York City, but it hasn't been held since 2019 because of COVID-19 restrictions and other logistics.

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"There was a lot of disappointment in that. With not only my customers but the community in general," Keener Hammond said, "So last year I realized they weren't going to do it again, and I decided to take matters into my own hands."

Her vision for the event was a "scaled-down, more intimate version of the event," she said. She wanted highly curated vendors that focused on women, moms, children and pets. Many vendors were small businesses, some local and some from nearby states.

This year will be similar, with fan favorites returning and new vendors, Keener Hammond said. Some of the new vendors include Harmony Cafe, a downtown business that will offer coffee and possibly snacks at the event, and Bold and Brawn, a Philly-based vendor offering stationary, stickers and apparel.

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One of the returning fan favorites is Gretchen Nevin Photography, which will be doing family portraits on the street and available for purchase, she said.

Despite the lack of the Olde York Street Fair in recent years, the event will make a comeback in 2024, Kate Harmon, the media contact at Working Progress, said. Working Progress is the organization hired in 2022 by York City to plan and hold its annual events.

Although the organization has brought back some events in 2022 and 2023, they had to choose what to put their focus on, and some events won't make an appearance until next year, Harmon said. The Olde York Street Fair will make its return, but Working Progress wants to ensure it can be done properly. In addition to the challenge of bringing back and organizing many city events, there are some logistic challenges of the street fair to be reviewed.

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Previously Market Street would be closed for several blocks, and over the years the event had a variety of vendor types. Working Progress would like to revamp the street fair to provide what residents want for Mother's Day, Harmon said.

Keener Hammond plans to keep holding the Mother's Day Market even after the Olde York Street Fair returns, but she'll likely hold it the week before Mother’s Day or closer to June, she said. There's no reason to duplicate efforts, and if the event is held closer to June it may be more summer-themed, Keener Hammond said.

— Reach Noel Miller at NMiller3@yorkdispatch.com or via Twitter at @TheNoelM.