Scottish Heritage Society of Iowa – CDM 2024 Non-Profit Silent Auction Tree Participant
Scottish Heritage Society Making a Long Awaited Return
Returning to the Christkindlmarket Des Moines Silent Auction for the first time since 2019 is the Scottish Heritage Society of Iowa.
“A Scottish Christmas” is the theme of this year’s tree from the Scottish Heritage Society. It will be decorated with a traditional winter wonderland of plaids and include Scottie dogs, beloved highland cows, and woolly sheep.
The Central Iowa chapter of the Scottish Heritage Society of Iowa was formed in 1975 by the children and grandchildren of members of two organizations prominent in the early days of Des Moines history – the “Robert Burns Club” and the “St. Andrews Society”.
Bid on the Scottish Heritage Society of Iowa’s festive tree when you visit Christkindlmarket Des Moines December 5th – December 8th, 2024!
New to #CDM2024 | Additional Free Parking
Plan ahead by scoping out parking options https://christkindlmarketdsm.com/parking/. There are now three surface lots adjacent to the festival venue with handicapped parking available. We will continue to work with business owners and the City of Des Moines to identify additional, free parking options which we will post on our website.
The festival will take place in Lot 2 (see map below). Free parking for Christkindlmarket Des Moines visitors is available in Lots 1, 3 (West side only) and 4 during the following festival. Handicapped parking is located in Lot 1.
Sons of Norway – CDM 2024 Non-Profit Silent Auction Tree Participant
Sons of Norway: The Tradition Continues
Sons of Norway will be decorating a Silent Auction Christmas Tree for a seventh year at Christkindlmarket Des Moines.
The Sons of Norway Marsteinen Lodge will be taking us on an adventure to the Northern Lights as they decorate this year. Their tree will portray the beautiful glow of the aurora borealis, starry nights and snow-covered fjords to create a magical winter experience. Norwegians and tourists enjoy other winter activities such as skiing, ice fishing, dog sledding and reindeer sightings during the winter months as well.
Sons of Norway has been in existence for 126 years and the Marsteinen Lodge, located in Des Moines, has been around for 40 of those. They are dedicated to keeping the Norwegian culture alive and membership consists of those who have Norwegian ancestry and anyone who has an interest in the culture. They use fundraising proceeds to support lodge programing and other non-profits in the community.
Bid on Sons of Norway’s festive tree when you visit Christkindlmarket Des Moines December 5th – December 8th, 2024!
Self-Help International – CDM 2024 Non-Profit Silent Auction Tree Participant
Self-Help International Returns for a Second Year
Self-Help International (SHI) is returning for their second year at Christkindlmarket Des Moines’ Silent Auction.
SHI will be presenting their tree “Bright Beginnings, Healthy Futures.” With the belief that every child, regardless of where they are born, deserves a chance to live a healthy life, Self-Help International will decorate their tree with symbols of food, growth, and empowerment to show how SHI works to nourish mothers and infants for a brighter future.
As an Iowa-based international non-profit, Self-Help International is dedicated to alleviating hunger in rural communities in Ghana, West Africa and Nicaragua, Central America by helping people help themselves. Their locally-hired team of skilled professionals serve these rural communities to improve the population’s quality of life with dignity.
In addition to bidding on their festive tree, here are a few events to help you enjoy the holidays and support Self-Help International:
- Holiday Happy Hour: November 19, 2024
- Empower Women Luncheon: December 4, 2024
Bid on Self-Help International’s festive tree when you visit Christkindlmarket Des Moines December 5th – December 8th, 2024!
Iowa Environmental Council – CDM 2024 Non-Profit Silent Auction Tree Participant
Welcome Iowa Environmental Council to the Weihnachtswald
We are excited to welcome Iowa Environmental Council (IEC) to their first Christkindlmarket Des Moines Silent Auction!
IEC will be showcasing their “IEC Aqua-Fir” in our Weihnachtswald tent at #CDM2024. As an organization committed to protecting and preserving safe water for all Iowans to drink and recreate in, this tree celebrates the beauty of our water intertwined with the tree, symbolizing the makeup of Iowa’s diverse environment. Every drop is sure to dazzle!
Iowa Environmental Council has been the largest environmental coalition in the state for over 25 years. The Council’s mission is a just, healthy environment and sustainable future for all Iowans. Through education, advocacy, and coalition-building, they raise awareness, generate action, and create large-scale change.
Bid on Iowa Environmental Council’s stunning tree when you visit Christkindlmarket Des Moines December 5th – December 8th, 2024!
Twisted Sunset Sisters | #CDM2024 Vendor
Tell us about your business
Twisted Sunset Sisters Fiber Mill is a local, women-owned business dedicated to helping small farms turn their animals’ fiber – from sheep, to angora rabbits, to alpacas and more – into high-quality products. offering demonstrations of a wide range of fiber and textile arts, as well as a selection of alpaca and wool gifts and crafting kits.
What inspired you to get involved as a vendor at Christkindlmarket Des Moines 2024?
This will be our second year doing demos at Christkindlmarket Des Moines but our first year vending a booth. We absolutely love doing demos for the public and love sharing the fiber arts with inspiring and experienced crafters alike. This year we will be demoing our circular sock machine and our knitting machine and have a big screen video playing of the 12+ industrial sized machines that make up our mill in Perry, IA.
What products will you be selling at Christkindlmarket Des Moines 2024 and why did you choose them?
This year we will have a variety of different yarn skeins for sale, both hand-dyed and naturally-colored yarn spun at Twisted Sunset Sisters Fiber Mill along with cute project/tote bags for fiber artists to haul home their goodies in. We will have handmade 100% alpaca dryer balls and drop-spindle learning kits. Plus our handmade 100% alpaca felted soap bars will be back as an awesome novelty product along with other handmade goods such as handwoven items (rugs and towels) and handmade knitted goods such as hats, scarves, socks, ornaments and other holiday gifts.
We selected these products as they highlight the amazingness in that is locally, small scale processed yarn from proud small scale US farms. All our products will have traceability tags which detail out where the fiber came from and how it was created because we believe strongly in empowering our customer and consumers of knowing where their products come from. We also added on a mix of festival exclusive knitted and woven goods to highlight and inspire others to experience the joy of crafting something from nothing.
Anything else you’d like to share?
We are a very new fiber mill and a new business (Opened in April of 2023) and this year we’ve focused on building out our recipes for our dyed yarns so expect to see some both festival exclusive dyed colorways and a lot of gorgeous colorful items! We will also have made to order options available too for custom colorways and be available for discussing your farms fiber processing needs too as we process all fiber types from alpaca to wool, angora,to mohair and more!
New to #CDM2024 | You can participate!
Throughout the weekend there are several opportunities to get involved with the festivities. At 6pm on Friday evening the opening ceremony features a parade around the venue with St. Nicholas and the Christkind. Kids of all ages are invited to join the procession and see the lighting of the tree! At 6:30pm on Saturday watch or join in the Krampuslauf (Running of the Krampuses).
New to #CDM2024 | Dedicated Beverages Refill Lines AND a New Beverage
To expedite service for our thirsty patrons, we will have two beverage refill lines for Glühwein, Kinderpunch, hot cocoa and eggnog in our Biergarten. Yes, I said eggnog! We’ve developed a Lebkuchen Eierlikör (Gingerbread Eggnog) that can be served as is or with a boost of brandy to warm the soul!
Barefoot Becky & the Ivanhoe Dutchmen | #CDM2024 Performer
Tell us about your group
We are a polka/variety band from Mt Vernon, IA. For 36 years we’ve been traveling around the country playing polkas, waltzes, country, big band, latin, line dances and party favorites!
What are you most looking forward to at Christkindlmarket Des Moines?
We enjoy playing Christkindlmarket Des Moines because it’s family friendly and the people are ready to have a good time with us. It’s fun to see people dancing and singing along. I’m sure a little Gluhwein helps too!!
Daughters of Norway – CDM 2024 Non-Profit Silent Auction Tree Participant
Daughters of Norway Returning For 8th Consecutive Year!
We are thrilled to have the Daughters of Norway returning to decorate a Silent Auction tree for a record 8th consecutive year! This cultural organization has been a staple in the Christkindlmarket Des Moines Weihnachtswald since our inaugural year in 2016.
Eva Nansen Lodge 46 became the first Iowa lodge to bear the name Daughters of Norway on November 5, 2006 with forty-six charter members representing Norway, Denmark, and Sweden ancestries. Membership is available not only to Norwegians, but women with Danish, Swedish, Finnish, and Icelandic connections. The Lodge Sisters pride themselves in offering educational and festive events, cultural programs and activities, and social gatherings. Lifelong Nordic friendships have developed while sharing common interests.
In addition to bidding on their always extraordinary tree, here are a few additional events to help you enjoy the holidays and support the Daughters of Norway:
- Scandinavian Fiddle Music Concert: November 12, 2024
- St. Lucia Day Presentation: December 3, 2024
If you are excited to see what Daughter of Norway have in store for us this year, visit Christkindlmarket Des Moines December 5th – December 8th, 2024!
