In October 2020, Creative Collective partnered with The City of Salem, Destination Salem, Salem Haunted Happenings, Haunted Happenings Magazine, and Halloween Happy to pivot from an in-person marketplace and happenings to the biggest regional (Virtual) Halloween market and digital experience.
The Haunted Happenings Online Marketplace featured hundreds of curated vendors from near and far including some of the finest fall/Halloween artisans, makers, and creatives!
With the cancellation of many events, the Haunted Happenings Marketplace online platform enabled hundreds of makers and performers to enjoy the best of what October in Salem had to offer without the need to travel during a global pandemic.
“Hundreds of local makers and small businesses lost every in-person opportunity to sell their wares in 2020, and we needed a solution to this seemingly impossible challenge,” said Creative Collective founder and President John Andrews. “With so much uncertainty already coming down the line, ‘Wait and see’ just wasn’t good enough for us. Especially when “wait and see” meant holding our collective breath until 2021, or longer.”
The Haunted Happenings Marketplace became the answer to the ongoing challenge artists, makers, and vendors faced in 2020. As an extension of what Creative Collective does for its members and at its events, this dynamic virtual market drove much-needed revenue for these small businesses.
In an effort to support these small businesses, all 2019 Market participants and Collective members were granted free digital listings on the marketplace digital portal.
Virtual Programming from the Haunted Happenings Marketplace
The Haunted Happenings Marketplace also included live vendor programming with Boo-It-Yourself Sundays, Skaraoke with Soulo Productionz, Virtual Howl-O-Ween, and other digital experiences throughout the month.
Check out some of these videos to view the content created during the October celebrations.
Whether it is an in-person market or a pivot into the digital space, Creative Collective is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to support creative small businesses, artisans, makers, and the overall creative workforce. The team at the Collective is constantly researching business and consumer trends to make sure that we serve our members regardless of how eclectic and diverse they are! You can learn more about our program here.
