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Shoveling snow on the sidewalk in front of his home and business, Ben Madrid of New Market remarked on how the slushy weather did little to dampen the town's annual Christmas festival on Saturday.

Madrid, who owns Santa Fe Trading Company, a dealer in Native American art and jewelry, said the snowy weather may have kept the number of out-of-town visitors down, but town residents were enjoying themselves.

Madrid said everyone he talked to seemed to be happy, despite the freezing weather and blowing snow. He said he was looking forward to the annual Christmas tree lighting in the town's community park, and the reception that would follow.

"That's small-town fun," Madrid said.

Scott Burall, president of the New Market Grange, was sitting in the Grange Hall where youngsters were engaged in Christmas-themed crafts or listening to Christmas stories told by Mrs. Claus.

Burall said there were a good number of children coming into the hall to work on craft projects, which members of the grange and a local Girl Scout troop were sponsoring.

"It doesn't matter what the weather is like," Burall said. "It seems to bring the people out."

Children were also coming to the Grange Hall as the last destination of a scavenger hunt. They gathered pieces of a snowman's face at various shops around town to assemble them at a table run by Girl Scout Troop 81771 of New Market.

Tara Hiltke, the troop's leader, was supervising the sixth-graders in her cadet troop as they helped children assemble the snowman's face.

She said the table was never busy, but more children had come through than she expected in the bad weather.

Town Hall was hosting Santa Claus, and was a popular destination for the children enjoying the festival.

Kahlei Ruprecht-Moorman, 6, of New Market, asked Santa Clause for a Barbie doll, and promised to be good in exchange.

"He said he was watching her all the time," said Kahlei's mother, Katy Ruprecht. She said visiting with Santa was their first stop at the festival.

But the weather did suppress some of the "small-town fun."

Most of the activities were limited to the indoors, though a few food vendors braved the streets, selling crepes and barbeque until mid-afternoon.

At Robert Esterly Antiques, John DuRant, an "old world troubadour," was playing Christmas music to entertain Esterly's guests.

DuRant, of Braddock Heights, was dressed in Colonial garb for the occasion, said he had known Esterly for years. He played in the Esterlys' living room, next to a fire and a table set up with sweet and savory snacks. "I'm doing a traditional costumed performance with no amplifier," he said, "just like they used to do at Williamsburg."

David Price, a town councilman and owner of 12 West Main, an art gallery, said the Christmas in New Market Committee had failed to find a company to provide carriage rides due to miscommunications with two vendors. One carriage driver had a scheduling conflict and the other though until last week that the festival was in New Market, Va., Price said.

A ghost walk scheduled for the evening was also canceled because of the danger of walking on the slushy sidewalks after dark. Tracie Manseau of New Market was planning to conduct the tour, and regretted that the weather canceled her 25-person tour group, which would have taken visitors from shop to shop as they learned the ghost stories associated with the historic buildings.

"New Market is very haunted," she said.

E-mail Christian Brown at chbrown@gazette.net.