Belle of Louisville hosts inaugural 'First Mate's Holiday Market' for Small Business Saturday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) - Small business Saturday was not just confined to land this year.

For the first time ever, the Belle of Louisville hosted a Christmas market to help small businesses stay afloat.

It was a unique shopping experience and the first of its kind for a famed Louisville attraction. The steamboat hosted its inaugural First Mate’s Market to commemorate small businesses on Saturday.

“To be on a historic landmark for the city and hosting a market like this, it's great,” Russ Meredith, who owns The Beer Syrup Company, said. “Having a bunch of people come out who've also never heard of my product before is also super helpful.”

While remaining docked for the day, customers boarded the boat for an afternoon of festive shopping.

Saturday was all about showcasing local goods including jewelry, crafts, food and bourbon from more than two dozen small businesses.

“All of them - their shows were canceled in 2020 that they go to and that is how they make their income and meet customers, so they are really excited to have more opportunities,” said Belle Community Outreach Manager Savannah Wafford.

Demand to sell on the boat was so high, some vendors had to be turned away.

Belle officials initially were not sure how many people would want to stop in for the floating market.

“We usually do ticketed events so it's really easy for us to gauge how many people are coming, so with doing a free community event it was like 'will five show up? Will 500 show up?" Wafford said.

More than 800 did - enough success to already get the go-ahead for the market next year.

For Meredith, it wasn’t a day of competing to see who could sell the most. It was about getting out and greeting customers face to face.

“It's absolutely a camaraderie because you understand what it means to be an entrepreneur to have a small business and try and grow something from the ground up,” said Meredith.

Those who missed it may not have to wait until next year to check out the event. Belle officials are hoping to have a similar one in the spring.