The Armadillo Christmas Bazaar is a long-time Austin tradition that started in 1976 at the Armadillo World Headquarters, a music hall in south Austin. The ‘Dillo was torn down in 1980 (for good reason, I’ve heard), but the legend lives on in the lore of the city. The Christmas Bazaar has been held at several venues since then, but seems to have settled at the Palmer Events Center for the past few years.

Over 160 artists are selling fine arts and crafts items at this year’s event. Local musicians perform on the center stage at 12 noon, 3:30 PM, and 8:00 PM. Bill and I were there on Saturday afternoon to hear Ruthie Foster. Music is piped throughout the event center, so you can either watch near the stage (Bill) or continue to shop (me). There are lots of beautiful handcrafted things at this year’s show…

Stunning stained glass

Fashionable bow ties

Colorful glass pendants

Natural wind chimes

Wooden bead strings

Black onyx jewelry

Wooden kaleidoscopes

 Fanciful armadillos

© Austin Downtown Diary, 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Austin Downtown Diary with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.