UNION — Christmas was officially in the air on Saturday as the third annual Carolina Christmas Shop was held at Union County Fairgrounds.
Organizers Stacey Cochran and Katie Hefner estimated that approximately 500 people visited the Christmas shop throughout the day. The event — for which admission was free and open to the public — included approximately 40 vendor booths featuring unique gifts including handmade, direct sales and food items. Hefner said she was thrilled with the number of new vendors that participated in this year’s event. The Dairi-O’s outside booth was also open for the event.
Cochran said she and Hefner look forward to next year’s event and hope to possibly have a booth of their own, even though their hands are already full.
The two friends started the event three years ago.
“There are always big events like this in Spartanburg and Greenville, and lots of people from Union are always going out of town for these type of events,” Cochran said. “We thought it would be nice to have one here in Union.”
Staff Writer Derik Vanderford can be reached at 864-427-1234, ext. 29, or by email at dvanderford@heartlandpublications.com.









