The Esperanza Center has been hosting the Peace Market for 35 years. Credit: Linda Romero

The Esperanza Peace & Justice Center is once again providing an alternative to Black Friday shopping, as it has done for the past 35 years.

The International Peace Market/Mercado de Paz will take place in and around the Esperanza Center at 922 San Pedro Ave., from Friday, Nov. 29, through Sunday, Dec. 1.

Rather than supporting big box stores and online shopping behemoth Amazon, the Esperanza Center’s Peace Market encourages the support of individual makers and building community around the holidays, according to organizers.

“[S]ince the beginning, [the PEACE Market] has combined the arts with social consciousness, international and cultural exchange and economic empowerment,” Esperanza officials shared in an emailed statement. “The Mercado provides an alternative to Black Friday, it celebrates the tradition of open-air markets found in indigenous communities, bringing people together as comunidad, not consumers. It exhibits the artists’ and merchants’ handcrafted gifts that celebrate themes of peace, justice, diversity and cultural and environmental preservation.”

This year’s market will feature nearly 80 vendors — both local and international — selling handmade goods. Local vendors will include soap makers, leather workers, jewelers, potters and makers of other handicrafts. International vendors will make the journey from Colombia and Mexico to bring their textiles, handwoven hats, beaded jewelry, religious iconography and folk art, among other goods.

The market also includes a full calendar of free live music all three days, including performances by Grupo Tan Tan, Conjunto Heritage Taller, Zombie Bazaar Panza Fusion, Bene Medina y Conjunto Aguila, Alyson Alonzo, Eddie “Lalo” Torres y Su Conjunto and more.

While browsing handmade wares, community members can also enjoy Mexican food served up at affordable prices. Esperanza also will host an hourly raffle throughout the festival to give away goods donated by the vendors.

Free, Friday-Saturday, Nov. 29-30, noon-6 p.m. Sunday, Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, 922 San Pedro Ave., (210) 228-0201, esperanzacenter.org
Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed

Related Stories

This article appears in Nov 13-26, 2024.

Stephanie Koithan is the Digital Content Editor of the San Antonio Current. In her role, she writes about politics, music, art, culture and food. Send her a tip at skoithan@sacurrent.com.