by Girl Behind the Lens – Daiyu Tang
Holidays are coming… holidays are coming…
Happy Holidays readers! The Observer wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving just past, but with now only a month to go we turn our minds and pens towards Christmas in Hathian and what better way to start the festive countdown than to explore the Christmas Tree Farm & Market that has been setup by Brandie Kelly as a generous token, perhaps event present to the Community. We dispatched our reporter, Daiyu Tang, Girl-Behind-The-Lens to take photos of the event, participate in some of the activities and interview Brandie about what Christmas means to her and why she’s chosen to invest back in the community.
The Market
Daiyu Tang here readers, dispatched by the Observer editorial board to investigate whether Brandie has brought holiday cheer to Hathian, or whether her Christmas Tree Farm & Market is more like Scrooge. So, what I’ll cover is what I found there, things to do and so on and then I’ll give you a summary of my interview with Brandie as well and finally finish with a score and directions to the venue.
Ok, so as you walk in you pass through this beautiful arch (see photo above) covered with festive lights, including these small twinkly ones that trail down from the top and bathe the area in a comforting yellow glow. I visited twice, during the day and at night and at night it’s even more magical and I’d recommend you try both to get a difference experience… during the day, shopping and perhaps meeting Santa, at night maybe some hot chocolate near the fire and who knows, a flirty chat with one of the elves?
After the arch, starting on the right we have Santa sitting in his Grotto surrounded by presents. Children (or adults such as your reporter) can come chat to Santa and perhaps even be given a present. For those of an adult disposition, don’t try and sit on his lap, the floor is the right place for us, ok? So after a chat with Santa (see the gallery on the Observer website!) I moved on.
Next is a Christmas themed Fortune Telling machine, put in a small coin and out comes a fortune after a merry little song and Santa dance. I’m not sure how entirely thematic they are, but here is mine; ‘A cynic is only a frustrated optimist’, which while true, isn’t quite as festive as expected, but never-mind!
After this we get to the Christmas Tree section, where you can purchase a range of trees (all real, no synthetics here) in various sizes from around 4 foot to over 7 foot tall! There are also string-lights and other accessories for your tree also for sale. I was assured by the staff there that these are all non-drop so for those of you with a cleaning obsession, you won’t be doing that much afterwards!
Past the Christmas Trees, we get to a photobooth where Santa’s helpers can get you and a few props into a festive background and snap away. I had been asked to bring something festive, which well… not usually my thing, but after changing round the back (cold, cold, cold) I was ushered into the booth and had a photo taken.
Once I’d got myself out of the clutches of the elves I walked around the food section… hot chocolate, pizza, roast chestnuts… sweet treats, it was all looking very tasty, although I managed to resist. There’s a few more photos in the gallery on the Observer website if you need something to get your stomach rumbling!
In the centre of the market are various seating options, some for eating on and some for relaxing with your friends. It was here that I met with Brandie to discuss all of this!
Christmas meaning with Brandie Kelly
Brandie met me in the market and we had a short chat about various topics, I left with the impression that she really wanted to give this to the community and hope that they benefit from it and enjoy it. I’ve met Brandie in other circumstances before (think Blindfold and as a leader of the Koga) but she was at pains to make me comfortable and to ensure me that this event is from her as a private citizen and for everyone. Nothing I saw or heard made me disbelieve this, so I hope you all enjoy this generous gift for the city.
Daiyu GBTL: “Thank you for having me here, it’s looking lovely. I must say Hathian luminaries do put a lot into the city, unlike our Mayor! Maybe we could start with what was on your mind this year when you made this and if you might, what’s a good Brandie memory of Christmas, how do you celebrate at your house?”
Brandie: “I am glad you are here and can see the things people can do. I don’t want it hidden away or not used. There are very few new places for people to go these days. Well, I should start by saying that I love Christmas. It is my favourite time of year! I have always gone all out for Christmas and even more so now and I wanted to share it with people, perhaps bring some Holiday Spirit to other people.”
She paused and we sipped Hot chocolate together thinking probably about Christmas at each our homes before Brandie continued:
Brandie: “I realize that that others celebrate in other ways and all are welcome here by the way, it’s not just for Christmas, it’s really a Holiday celebration. So, my best memory? Well, a good Christmas memory of mine is when my parents were still alive and I was younger of course, my dad and I would go ice skating on Christmas Eve and then we would go to the town Christmas market. On Christmas morning I would wake up and rush down to the living room and it looked like my parents had slept down there all night, but we just had a good day overall. People came in and out the house all day. My mom was a good hostess. I guess that’s where my love for it came from. I try to instil those things in my own children now. I want it to be a special time for them and me and my children’s father work together to make that happen.”
Daiyu: “That though is a lovely memory, ice-skating is so cool if you can do it well… I thought if I can ski or ride a bike, I can ice-skate… nope… bruising all over! So ok… a few bits of admin… what would you like this place called when we write about it? Is it a Christmas Fair, is it Brandie’s Christmas Fair, or is there a better description? Your hard work, you get to name it! Then yes, then perhaps you can tell me about a few of the things here that you’d want featured the most, I’ve already seen and taken photos of a lot, but what’s maybe the two things you want me to focus on to attract people, alongside a plea to their holiday good spirit and cheer? And then finally on the admin side, will you be hosting any events here during December? Any date or dates you want me to mention so that Hathian keeps it free or no one else books it over?”
Brandie: “I do a lot of athletic things. My father taught me a lot. I was an only child and the son he never had. So, I have given it some thought… It started out that I was doing a tree farm. My ex-husband and I had a tree farm for three years and I have missed it, so I decided to have one again and then from there it blossomed to this. I would definitely say the trees are the best bit, everyone needs a tree. So it’s really the Holiday Tree Farm and Market, I guess. I want it to be said this place has no affiliation with my gang or any other gang. I am the sole owner and am doing this because it’s something I love, and I want to share it. Nothing more. Right now I don’t have any dates but if anyone would like to hose an event here its opened for that just let me know. Admission is free here and all I want is for people to enjoy it.”
So, free admission and no gang-links. Everyone should be safe and happy here! It really was very generous and I was reminded of the Hathian Haunt, something that was made for the benefit of the community.
Daiyu: “Ok last bit if I might, because people do love to be nosy and I count myself among them… you’ve got a Christmas Wish list, what are your top three things you want this year and if I might just stretch my nosiness just a little more, what’s the worst Christmas present you’ve had and the worst Christmas outfit you’ve ever been court wearing? Maybe also some closing words that you’d like Hathian to hear?”
Brandie: “If I had a Christmas Wish List? I guess the top three things I would want would be for my kids to be healthy, for Business to keep being good and to throw in something indulgent it would be a new motorcycle. Oh, and as for my worst outfit!? Oh dear… The worst outfit… I have worn an outfit that absolutely did not go together but actually worked and I ended up loving it… oh and as for the closing words? I guess I would say that life is short; be with your family, whomever they may be. As we know family isn’t necessarily blood but the people that you consider family for the holidays and make it special. Make memories!”
So reader, sure… we dug a bit and look what we found…
Conclusion
I think reader that it’s a forgone conclusion that I recommend you visit… Holiday Cheer, good food and a relaxing place to be. As noted at the top, you can visit anytime ((SL Link)) or find it just down past the Arcade and the Vodou shop in central Hathian.
Where next readers? What business or place would you like me to review, let me or my editors know! All the best -DT!
