Staff photo.
Community members can browse the various vendors at Market Noel on Nov. 19-22 in the Finley Center. The annual holiday shopping event hosts over 100 merchants and featured a concierge desk with gift wrapping.
The Junior League of Birmingham is holding its 2025 Market Noel holiday shopping event at the Finley Center in Hoover on Nov. 19-22.
Customers can shop from more than 100 vendors selling things such as home décor, clothing, jewelry, toys, gift and holiday items, gourmet food and more.
General admission tickets cost $15.80 with the following shopping hours:
- Thursday, Nov. 20, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Friday, Nov. 21, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 22, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Here are some of the special events that are part of Market Noel:
- Preview Night: Wednesday, Nov. 19, 7-10 p.m. People age 21 and older can come for first dibs on shopping and participate in a silent auction and Diamond Drop event by Diamonds Direct. There will be dueling pianos providing music, and dancing is encouraged. The cost for the preview night is $57.
- JLB Hearts Birmingham: Thursday, Nov. 20, 5-8 p.m. This event will include performances from local area high schools, churches and community organizations. Miss Alabama 2025 Emma Terry is scheduled to serve as emcee, and there will be a Community Helpers Lounge to show appreciation for teachers, first responders and military members (all of whom can get discounted tickets for $10 with proper ID). No special ticket is required other than a Thursday general admission ticket.
- “My Southern Kitchen” Book Signing: Friday, Nov. 21, 10-11:30 a.m. Ivy Odom, the senior lifestyle editor for Southern Living magazine and assistant vice president of communications for the Junior League, will be having a book signing at Market Noel for her first cookbook called “My Southern Kitchen.”
- Brunch with the Big Guy: Saturday, Nov. 22, 9-11 a.m. This will include brunch, holiday activities for kids, a reading of “The Polar Express” and a picture with Santa. Tickets are $12.70 per child, $29.20 per adult or $210.50 for a table for eight people.
SHOPPING FOR A CAUSE
Proceeds from the Market Noel are used to provide education scholarships and community assistance grants to various organizations and to help with projects aimed at advancing education, improving health, mitigating crises, promoting safety and overcoming poverty and financial instability.
The Junior League of Birmingham has about 2,000 trained volunteers who collectively donate more than 40,000 hours of community service time each year. The Junior League has 22 projects involved in things such as:
- Empowering young women to take on leadership roles in their school and community while also learning career and life skills to become self-sufficient, make healthy choices and become financially responsible.
- Counseling middle school students about career paths.
- Sharing music through the Junior League choir at nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living facilities and underprivileged schools.
- Conducting voter registration drives.
- Providing weekend activities for children at Children’s of Alabama Hospital and their families.
- Offering classes to support the physical and emotional well-being of breast cancer patients.
- Collecting and pasteurizing donated breast milk for sick and pre-term infants.
- Planning and facilitating recreational activities for cognitively challenged people at The Exceptional Foundation.
- Making weekly phone calls to senior citizens and caregivers of seniors.
- Working with the YWCA to implement programs for children who have been exposed to violent situations or unhealthy environments.
- Spreading awareness of human trafficking.
- Collecting food for the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama and distributing it to needy areas.
- Helping with English as a Second Language classes for Hispanic residents.
For more information about Market Noel or to purchase tickets, visit marketnoel.net.
