Let the Holidays begin!

The Nutcracker Market opened yesterday and runs through Sunday at Reliant Center. This year’s theme is Toy Town Texas.

The other day, I heard someone on the radio refer to the Market as “The Super Bowl for Women.” My wife seems to agree as she took yesterday off to attend what Houston Ballet calls “A Holiday Shopping Wonderland.” Last year over 95,000 shoppers attended the event in 3 days.

The Missus spent the entire day there, not returning home until after 9m. She went with two of her best friends and they had a great time. If you enjoy shopping, eating and drinking, this is the event for you!

Houston Ballet, the 4th largest ballet company in the U.S., sponsors this event every year which helps promote their annual production of The Nutcracker – which opens Nov. 25 and runs through Dec. 27. All proceeds from the Market benefit Houston Ballet Foundation, Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy and its scholarship funds. The Market has over 300 vendors with holiday items, unique food products and much more. You can get tickets at Randall’s grocery stores for $11 or at Reliant Center for $12. Half-price admission is available 3 hours prior to closing each day.

At the Market, they encourage customers to spend the entire day there. They have plenty of food on hand to purchase as well as standard refreshments and alcoholic beverages. You’ll usually find a lot of happy shoppers sipping their drinks there.

Its the premiere holiday shopping event of the season so please consider visiting this weekend. Free Shuttles are available throughout the vast Reliant Center parking area as is Valet Parking for those who just need to get in there and get shopping!

You can follow the Nutcracker Market on Facebook and on Twitter @NutcrackerMkt . For further information, please contact Houston Ballet at 713-535-3231 or nutcrackermarket@houstonballet.org . You can also review their website at http://www.houstonballet.org/Nutcracker_Market/Nutcracker_Market_Overview/