AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new holiday market and entertainment hub has popped up in downtown Austin.
Oh What Fun!, presented by Fetch Concepts, officially opened Thursday at Republic Square and will run through Dec. 24.
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The market features festive decor, lounge experiences, food trucks and a bar with themed holiday drinks, more than 40 local makers selling their goods, and live music and special programming planned throughout the market’s run.
Clayton Young, operations director for Fetch, said Denver is the only other city where there’s a holiday market like this one. Young has been working in live event management for a decade and used to work as a food retail vendor, he said. He’s also from Texas and has lived in Austin for 10 years, so he’s always wanted to bring an event to the city.
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“We want people to sit and sip and enjoy the shopping experience, like a European market,” he said. “After you get off work, come have a beverage, bring your friends, see the shops. Every Saturday, the farmers’ market is here. There’s a lot of things on the perimeter too, so it’s like active, there’s always something new happening.”
Young said the planning process took several months, and it’s a “multi-department coordination.”…