Mermaids, Santa Claus, the Grinch and dozens of local vendors met Saturday at Cyr-Gates Community Center for the 13th annual holiday New Iberia Craft and Vendor event at City Park. 

The event brings local vendors who sell everything from pastries to birdhouses to the New Iberia public.

Craft events are held at the community center every November and April each year in order to have a day every spring and winter where local small business owners are prioritized. 

The inside of Cyr-Gates Community Center was converted into a shopping mall for local residents to enter throughout the day to view the local merchandise or sell their wares to interested buyers. 

The event always brings forth a wide array of interesting items made from home-grown craftsmen and vendors who take the opportunity to promote their small businesses so those in the area have the ability to shop for local merchandise. 

“We love supporting local businesses,” Aileen Landry, who was at the event with her two children, said at the event. “It’s always fun, we try to come whenever they have one.”

Apart from the food, clothing, trinkets and other miscellaneous items, there were plenty of activities prepped for kids who were brought along to this year’s holiday event. 

In anticipation of the upcoming Christmas holiday, Santa showed up at the community center to take pictures with children, and other recognizable figures like Disney princesses and mermaids were part of the fun too.