Many stores have unique and creative gift options, but for many students, those options are either difficult to reach or unfeasible to obtain. Milligan College, with its annual Advent Market, hopes to change that.

Jason Onks, Director of Campus Activities at Milligan College, said the school has been organizing the market for at least seven years.

“We want to have the opportunity for students to conveniently do some Christmas shopping, either between or after their classes,” Onks said.

Though the market is held in the university center on campus, Onks said the event has always been open to the community as a whole.

“We have gained momentum in recent years by inviting local craft people to set up as vendors,” he said.

The Advent Market features a selection of 12 vendors, who set up shop in the Gregory Center, featuring a variety of wares to sell.

Some vendors have participated in the market for several years, many of whom bring items unique to the Milligan area.

“One shop makes crocheted figurines of characters like Darth Vader,” Onks said.

Another vendor in the past set up a system to weave custom-order socks for students to purchase, right in the middle of campus.

Onks said he approaches businesses all the time, seeing which ones would be a good fit to let into the invite-only event, basing his decisions on the kinds of products they provide.

“I think about the target audience a lot, specifically the price,” he said. “A vendor can have high-end products but may be too expensive. College students typically do not have a lot of spending money.”

Onks said he hopes the atmosphere the market provides encourages community members and students alike to come check it out.

“College campuses are cool places,” he said. “They are environments of creativity and self-discovery.”

He said he encourages everyone who can come to stop by and see what the Advent Market has to offer.

“We hope people take the opportunity to look at quality vendors and consider what they have to offer as gifts,” Onks said.

The Advent Market will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.