BELTON, TX — Hundreds of Central Texans got out to enjoy some of the sunshine that came with the spring equinox Saturday.
The community gathered in downtown Belton for the first of six Market Days.
At the outdoor event, folks supported local businesses, like Christine Messer Ceramics, a small business that once started out as a hobby in Italy while her husband served in the armed forces.
“[I] started messing around with clay and took some short classes by the instructors there,” Christine Messer, the owner of the shop said. “[I] learned how to throw on the wheel and just kind of ran with it.”
Her family returned back to the states in 2019 where her business began.
However, it was when she moved to Nolanville in early 2020 when she started really creating ceramic pieces to sell.
“I've experienced a very welcoming and friendly Central Texas community and it's been great,” she said, smiling.
Her pop-up shop was just one of many on the blocked off roadways in Belton.
Near her shop were small clothing boutiques, specialty item stands and places where you could purchase food.
“It is really beautiful out here, there's so many people, everyone's so nice, all the vendors are so sweet,” Kayla Hearell, a Belton native said. “So, yeah, it's been really fun.”
Hearell said it’s nice to get out and support local businesses, especially after a year filled with uncertainty from the pandemic.
“I’ve always been a huge supporter of local and so you help the community directly and I think that’s more important now,” she said.
When you support local, you just might be supporting a larger dream.
“This is what I'm happy doing,” Messer explained. “I think it'd be awesome to like one day have my own coffee shop and make all the mugs for that. But that's in the distant future.”
To find more days and times when you can visit Market Days in downtown Belton, visit their Facebookpage.
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