About the HMLF: 

The Southside Holiday Market and Wonderland Lights Fest is a three-day holiday spirit event featuring several exciting holiday activities and events that inspire Christmas joy, spirit, and community connection for every member from every walk of life in the community. From December 12-14, 2025, in the historic Washington Park, this festival will provide the opportunity to curate an exciting, immersive, and engaging community holiday event that will grow into a timeless tradition with the potential to continue growing, adding new experiences and new celebrations of the holidays on the southside. 

The Purpose of HMLF:

The holiday season is one of the most special times of the year, an opportunity from people all over the world, from all backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures to connect over the common themes of happiness, hope, connecting, and family. Most of, if not all, of the most traditional and monumental holiday traditions within Chicago are found in the city's downtown or northside neighborhoods, such as Wrigleyville. Very few large and traditional Christmas activities exist for residents and communities on the city's southside. Because of this, New Frontier Ventures Community Impact Foundation Incorporated, a nonprofit urban and community development corporation, will bring to life an event that caters to every member of the family, providing holiday cheer, family excitement, and holiday spirit at Chicago's historic Washington Park. 

Festival Highlights: 

• Through a partnership with a locally-owned holiday lights theming company, a walking lights exhibit, featuring an array of high-tech decor and four immersive and engaging holiday hubs for photo opps, immersive entertainment, and engagement for the entire family. 
• The Holiday Hall decked out in a whimsical, childhood decor which will feature family-friendly entertainment with classic family Christmas films, an opportunity to indulge in some local holiday treats and beverages, and other family-friendly arts and crafts activities, as well as an opportunity to meet Santa. 
• Santa's After-Hours Workshop decked out in a sophisticated holiday decor and a bit of holiday nostaglia, an adult's only southside Christmas bar experience (21+) featuring holiday treats and beverages with a twist, table top games and activities, live entertainment, and certain periods playing classic adult Christmas films, to be enjoyed and experienced by adults 21 and up as an individual or group! 
• The Spirit of the Trees lined along the walking routes of the lights festival and the outdoor market, The Spirit of the Trees is a live tree display and competition, inviting community organizations, businesses, and groups to partner with this event through the purchase and decoration of a live Christmas tree to be displayed during the event, and then following the event either displayed at the group's location or donated to another organization to be displayed the remainder of the holiday season. 
• The Holiday Market is the opportunity to promote and highlight dozens upon dozens of small, locally owned businesses and vendors throughout the Chicagoland area. With an emphasis on the promotion of southside businesses, community businesses, and those near the event location, we are extending an invitation to all community and locally owned businesses to join us. Artisans and handmade crafts, food vendors, clothing and boutiques are all welcomed and invited to join us. 

Information for Potential Vendors

Important Details for Vendors

 Vendor opportunities will open to the public January 06, 2025 and we will be available until October 15, 2025 or until all spaces for the event have been reserved. 

PAYMENT OF THE VENDOR IS THE ONLY SURE WAY TO CONFIRM THAT YOUR SPOT HAS BEEN RESERVED. Our team will send a confirmation email for those who proceed by sending their certified checks or money orders made payable to: NEW FRONTIER VENTURES COMMUNITY IMPACT FOUNDATION. The address these should be addressed to is: 

Options for Vendors:

• Holiday Hall & Santa's After-Hours Workshop: $500 (indoor space within the family-friendly or adults only holiday themed spaces)
• Outdoor: $250 (10x10) $400 (20x20)
  
• Food Trucks and Truck Display Vendors ($750)
• Nonprofits & Community Organizations [Awareness Booths or interactive experiences- no selling activity, only donations]: $125

Expectations of Vendors:

Vendors will be expected to do the following: 

• Be available for the duration of the event's happening December 11-14, 2025. 
  • Though the event actually opens to the general public on December 12, 2025, the event will host a Sponsors, Partners, and VIP Night on December 11, 2025 and all vendors should be ready and positioned to open for this event. Each vendor will also be highlighted during this event. 
• Each vendor is asked to provide 3 door gifts from their businesses that will be raffled off during events within Holiday Hall or Santa's After-Hours Workshop. 
  • Vendors who give all three door prizes will receive 25% discount on their registration fee. Those who give 1 to 2 door prizes will receive a 10% discount on their registration fee.
  • For food vendors, we ask that you give out free meals or treats as door prizes-where we would send the winner to your space with a ticket to pick up their item. We can work together to determine a dollar amount for food vendors on items included in the door prizes.
• Vendors are asked to pay their registration fee after submitting their registration form. 
  • We kindly ask vendors to send fees in no later than 30-60 days after your form registration, and please note until payment has been received, your registration will not be valid. 
• Nonprofits and Community Organization booths are only for awareness and interactive experiences, restricted from activities of selling merchandise, or products. Nonprofits and community organizations can encourage donations, but cannot require guests to provide money in exchange for participation in any of the booth's activities or to take any of the booth's materials or items. 
• No vendors will be expected to set up or prepare their space after 2 PM on December 11, 2025. All spaces for the vendors should be complete and set-up by this time in order for the premiere event with our sponsors, partners, and VIPS. 

Who Can Be a Vendor?

This event is open to all locally-owned and operated businesses and vendors, as well as other vendors and businesses that are artisans, handmade crafts, food vendors, clothing boutiques, artists, etc. If you have a business that sells a product or service and you can set up shop in the middle of a park in December to be part of a holiday event, this vendor opportunity warmly welcomes you to join us! 

Are vendors expected to be located in certain communities?

While we hope to promote and elevate the importance and role of businesses in the communities connected to or bordering the community where the event is taking place, we also highlight diversity and the promotion of locally owned shops and businesses across Chicago, promoting the importance of Chicagoans from all places in choosing to shop and support local whenever possible. Because of this, all vendors from all over Chicago are welcomed. We will promote and hope to have a great presence of southside businesses and organizations, however, we will not and are not limiting the presence and participation to strictly southside businesses. 

What are the different vendor options? 

Vendors will have the option to purchase a vendor space outside, indoor within one of the tented, indoor experiences, or a food truck/truck experience option (for food vendors/vendors who have experienced attached to trucks or trailers).

 

Spaces will be allocated on a first come, first served basis and will be assigned by event management and organization leadership team. If you have any special needs for your space, please include them with your description of items sold. Please note that we cannot guarantee the ability to provide power to any display spaces, and if this is the case, we will reach out to you to inform you, however our goal is to provide each vendor with all basic necessities to make their space operational that are within our control. Should that be a factor in participation please let us know.  Following your submission, you will be contacted to confirm your application acceptance and at that time you can provide a credit/debit card for payment of your vendor fee.  If you have any questions, please contact 773-573-2075 or memberservices@cambridgeclubnj.com. 

If you are interested in submitting your fee via ACH or other forms please be sure to note this to us in an email, and we will be prepared to get you the necessary details for other payment options. 

FOR TAX PURPOSES, ALL VENDOR FEES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS EVENT ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE, THEREFORE, ONCE WE HAVE CONFIRMED AND RECEIVED YOUR PAYMENT FOR THE VENDOR OPPORTUNITY, YOU WILL RECEIVE A RECEIPT WHICH INCLUDES THE NECESSARY INFORMATION FOR YOU TO CLAIM YOUR TAX DEDUCTION.