Carla Pardue is a super volunteer and the outreach coordinator at the Hill & Lake Press. She lives in East Isles.
The wind howled and the snow came sideways at this year’s Uptown Winter Wonderland Holiday Market, but none of that seemed to matter. Neighbors came anyway.
I have volunteered at the market all three years it has existed, and each year more people have shown up. After years of disruption and uncertainty, the simple act of gathering feels meaningful. People lingered, talked and laughed and seemed genuinely glad to see one another. Children, and those young at
heart, delighted in the free crafting and fun photo-ops at True North Studio. Several were lucky to receive a mini snowflake from a Snow Queen who stopped by.
My post this year was a table of framed photographs from past Uptown Art Fairs offered in exchange for donations to the Uptown Association. The images stretched back to the 1990s and they stopped people in their tracks. Strangers leaned in together pointing out long gone storefronts, familiar faces and moments they remembered. Many left smiling with a framed print under their arm.
Those old photos did more than decorate walls. They reminded us that Uptown has always been a place of creativity, energy and community. They carried memories of what has been and quiet optimism for what comes next.
Despite everything Uptown has been through, the community is still here. The vibe is still here. The joy of being together is still here.
I love Uptown. It is my home. It is the people who keep showing up who make it work and who are helping make it joyful again.
See you next year.
