More than 60 stalls with plenty of goodwill filled Festival Hall and the Rose Room bringing festive cheer to Christmas shoppers when most outside events had been cancelled.
Organisers of the annual Giant Christmas Charity Market are delighted with the £2,000 and more that was raised for local charities, despite wild stormy weather hitting the town.
The popular annual fundraiser returned to the more central and prestigious Festival Hall venue after a three year move to The Petersfield School. The Festival Hall has been the traditional home of the Easter and Christmas charity markets for many years.
Lots of Christmas gifts and crafts were on display along with collectables and a huge book stall. A bumper raffle in the foyer made a colourful entrance while a busy café set up in the Rose Room by the ladies of Stroud Evening WI.
The main charity to benefit will be Portsmouth Hospitals Cancer Fund which will receive £650 from the profit on stall rents, a donation from the café, the takings from the giant book stall and the raffle. Local sponsors also helped offset the cost of hiring the Hall.
Other charities to benefit included the Rosemary Foundation hospice at home nurses which had two stalls raising £250; Petersfield Lions £250; Petersfield Musical Festival £125 and the Cat & Rabbit Rescue Centre £124. Farnham-based Enterprise 19 which supports young adults with learning difficulties were pleased with the £100 profit they made.
Market organiser Jeremy Holmes thanked everyone for their help and support including Karen Bowes and Jean Hick who ran the raffle and Tesco for providing one of the top prizes.