GREENSBORO, N.C. — It felt more like summer outside the Greensboro Coliseum, but inside, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
"It's not as early as you think, but it does feel a little bit early," said Tami Gilmore, the Holiday Market Director.
This year many are getting a jump start on their holiday shopping, well before Thanksgiving.
The thousands of people attending Holiday Market is a prime example.
"This is a big deal to Greensboro. This is the kick off of the holiday," said Gilmore.
This is the 33rd year for the Holiday Market.
The event draws small businesses from across the region and is a huge boost to their seasonal sales.
"For many of our exhibitors this is their biggest show of the year and a lot of people who do this kind of business like October, November, December, they make 75 to 80% of their income in those three months. This is a really big deal to them," said Gilmore.
From parking to admission and sales, the event brings a lot of cash to the area.
"We are originally from California and this show actually brought us out here from California last year," said Scott Morgan, "The holiday market is definitely a reason for us to be able to come and sell our product."
The sea of shoppers and exposure to his business continue to bring Morgan back to Greensboro.
So much so, he recently moved from California to southern Virginia, just so he could set up at the Holiday Market every year.
"Even if we weren't living in southern Virginia, we would still drive out here from California to do this event, and that takes almost 5 days to get here," said Morgan.
The three-day event typically draws in 18-21,000 shoppers.
Last year, due to the ongoing pandemic, the attendance fell just shy of their average.
This year, Gilmore expects the attendance to be as good or better than 2021.
"There is a confidence and a resurgence in people wanting to be together, they do want to be together and they want to see what other people are doing, what other people have and how can we share it together. There is that confidence coming back and it's really nice to see," said Gilmore.
The Holiday Market runs through Sunday at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center.