ISHPEMING — Marquette County residents are encouraged to shop local this season, and the Gossard Building in Ishpeming had plenty of options Thursday night.

The building hosted its second annual Christmas at the Gossard event.  There were vendors selling all sorts of homemade items, including jewelry, sweets, and crafts.

“Support these local folks that work twelve months out of the year just so they can hit two or three craft shows or bazaars this time of year that are out,” Gossard marketing and event planner Sandra Arsenault said. “You can also meet your neighbors out, friends you haven’t seen in a while…we always have the coffee pots on for all the events, no charge to anybody. Sit down, visit.”

The Gossard tries to hold events like these to encourage residents to support their local artisans and keep money in the local economy.

“We’re also trying to direct more people to downtown Ishpeming,” Arsenault said. “Too many small areas are dying out because everything’s being built out on the highway where you can drive by, see it, stop in. We’re trying to breathe new life into our downtown and we feel that with the building that we have, we can host a lot of people here, and we can host a lot of events here.”

The Ishpeming Business association is also offering sleigh rides downtown Ishpeming Thursday night until 7:30.