KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The 2021 Knoxville Christmas Extravaganza kicked off on Saturday, filling the Knoxville Expo Center with festivities and cheer.
More than 150 vendors brought the Christmas spirit with them for the second annual event. They sold items of all kinds, from ornaments to hang off Christmas trees to festive lights meant to decorate homes.
Half of the proceeds will go to the East Tennessee Children's Hospital, helping ensure patients there have a chance to enjoy the holidays too. One organizer said that the hospital has a special place in her heart.
"My son, he was about 5 months old. We took him into the ER and he wasn't feeling well," said Jennifer Stafford, an organizer of the extravaganza. "They did a flu test on him, and he turned blue. We stayed for 3 days just to make sure he was okay, but it was just a freak accident that he went through. And if we had been anywhere else, like a walk-in clinic or anything like that, I can't imagine what would have happened."