Healdsburg police are warning local business owners and vendors to beware of a fictitious Christmas craft market they say is a scam and doesn’t even exist. The fake event, which police said is circulating in cities nationwide, is targeting would-be vendors for money. A realistic-looking flier was distributed with the title “Joyful Christmas Crafts Market” with false information including a date and time for the event. The scammers also used the exact same address as Healdsburg’s legitimate Saturday market. Interested vendors were told to reach out to an email address on the flier. That email is not associated with the city. Healdsburg police did not say how the flier was being distributed, who exactly it was targeting, how much money was being asked from vendors or who was behind it. A spokesperson from the department could not be reached Tuesday for comment or additional information. “We have some great community events year round put on by local community groups and it is unfortunate that scammers would try to take advantage of the community,” the department said in a Facebook post Monday. Janet Ciel, market manager for the Healdsburg Farmers Market said she was alerted Tuesday about the bogus event after a vendor told her they were scammed out of $140. It is unclear how the money exchanged hands. Ciel said she spent all day Tuesday calling and emailing her database of contacts to warn them. She said in her leadership role, she has only ever seen someone make “an innocent mistake” and try to host an event without the proper city permits. “I am disturbed I knew nothing about it until less than a month out from this fake event,” she told The Press Democrat Tuesday. Ciel’s advice to vendors is to always vet the validity of a flier or advertisement by researching the event promoter and what events, if any, they have already held. Markets also usually require vendor applications. In Healdsburg, applications for the fall holiday craft market open every June and the market allows up to 25 extra craft vendors in November and December. Healdsburg never has full season craft vendors, she added. “I have never seen anything like this,” Ciel said.
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2025/11/25/never-seen-anything-like-this-bogus-christmas-market-targets-healdsburg-crafters/
‘Never seen anything like this’: Bogus Christmas market targets Healdsburg crafters
