Adair's Holiday Shopping Moves to the People Who Run Its Sundays

The building at 406 Audubon St. has been several things. Owner Melanie Byers told the Guthrie Center Times Vedette what she has heard about its past. The main room was a hardware store and the other side was a small diner. Later, Fay Pharmacy used it for storage. Most recently Cory Schafer and his wife kept roofing supplies there.

It opened as 406 Market on Sept. 19. Now it has fresh produce, BC Angus beef, Amish-made baskets and a copier that used to sit at the Adair News.

The store is one part of a bigger shift in Adair's holiday season this year. On Saturday, Dec. 5, the Christmas Extravaganza vendor market will be run by the Adair Farmers & Craft Market, the group behind the Sunday afternoons in City Park. It's also in a new spot, the Boys & Girls Club on Broad Street. Add a downtown store that's open six days a week, and much of Adair's local shopping is now in the hands of people who are working on it year-round.

What the new store on Audubon Street carries

The Times Vedette's write-up lists gifts, Iowa-made and locally made products, local foods, dairy, meat and other refrigerated foods, flowers, handmade items, seasonal goods and décor. The fresh produce has turned out to be a popular seller. Byers told the paper what customers say most often: "People have been very appreciative that now they can get fresh produce without leaving Adair."

The meat case has been growing. Byers started with locally raised beef from BC Angus and then added a pork and chicken supplier. She told the paper the slow part is finding producers with the right license or certification to sell through a store. The wooden baskets come from an Amish craftsman in southern Iowa. Byers wrote letters back and forth with him before he agreed to sell his work there.

Byers also says she talked with Stacey Wedemeyer, who runs Hometown Basics in Casey, to make sure the two shops don't overlap. Hometown Basics leans toward clothing and 406 Market leans toward food. Byers called the arrangement "really complementary." If you're shopping for gifts this season, the two stores carry different things.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

The store also does work beyond its own sales

Two of the store's services have nothing to do with groceries. The Adair News ran out of room for its copier and moved it to 406 Market, so the store now makes and sells copies. Byers is also setting aside free space where schools and nonprofit groups can display information and run fundraisers. "I want to promote that as much as possible," she told the Times Vedette.

So the store fits into the same volunteer circuit that puts on Adair's holidays. A club selling raffle tickets or a class raising money for a trip now has a room downtown, open on weekday evenings, where it can set up a table. Byers has also said she hopes to add delivery for customers who can't get to the store.

The December vendor market has a new host

The Christmas Extravaganza used to be a Chamber event. In 2024 the Chamber of Commerce organized a vendor fair that ran 1 to 5 p.m. across two locations, the Adair Community Center and the new gym at the Boys and Girls Club. Jenna Nevins played live music at the Community Center that year, and kids could get their faces painted for free. In 2025, Raccoon Valley Radio reported that the Chamber's Extravaganza ran 1 to 4 p.m. at the Community Center. It had vendors, cookie decorating, free face painting, hot cocoa, coffee and live music.

This year the Adair Farmers & Craft Market is hosting it as a fundraiser. It's at the Boys & Girls Club, 807 Broad St., from 1 to 4 p.m. The group lists live music, shopping, baked goods, face painting, cookie decorating and photo ops. It says the money supports its mission of putting on free education, fundraising, cultural and family-friendly activities.

It's the same group that ran Sunday markets at Adair City Park, 401 4th St., from 4 to 6 p.m. from August through October, with produce, crafts, food, games and live music. The December vendor market is now part of that same calendar. Vendors can still sign up through the group's events page.

The Boys & Girls Club building has its own history in town. The club started in 2002 and has offered after-school programs, summer programs and youth sports at low cost so local kids can take part.

The Festival of Trees opens earlier this year

The fire station is still the center of the afternoon. The White Pole Road Scenic Byway events listing has the Festival of Trees at the Adair Fire Department, 505 5th St., from 1 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 5. In both of the last two years it opened at 2 p.m. With the earlier start, the trees are open for the whole time the vendor market is running across town.

The festival goes back to 1996. That year the Adair Women's Club and the Adair Library teamed up on the first one as a community project and fundraiser. It has been held every year since except 2020. School groups, businesses, clubs, churches, organizations and individuals each put up a decorated tree, wreath, Nativity scene or holiday collection. In 2024 the Times Vedette reported that the money had gone to scholarships and community projects, with more than $75,000 in scholarships awarded over the years.

The evening has filled out over the years. In 2024 the fire station had a scavenger hunt through the displays, free popcorn and a raffle tree from Schmidt Family Funeral Home. The Adair Lions served a free-will soup supper from 4:30 to 7 p.m. while the Des Moines Little Big Band played. Santa visited from 5 to 6 p.m., sponsored by the Women's Club and the Adair Chamber of Commerce. In 2025 there were trees, wreaths, Nativity scenes, a scavenger hunt, cider and popcorn. Visitors gave free-will donations for scholarships and had a chance to win a tree. The Lions held their soup supper again, and Santa came at 5.

The Lions behind that supper were chartered in 1951 and had 19 members in 2024. Over the years they have supported the ACGC school, the Adair Food Pantry, the library, the Boys & Girls Club, the fire department, the Community Center and City Park.

How Dec. 5 lines up

Going by the posted hours, here is one way to do the day without much backtracking:

1. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: 406 Market at 406 Audubon St. is open its usual Saturday hours. That's a good window for local beef, produce or a basket for a gift.
2. 1 to 4 p.m.: Christmas Extravaganza Vendor Market at the Boys & Girls Club, 807 Broad St.
3. 1 to 7 p.m.: Festival of Trees at the Adair Fire Department, 505 5th St. Because it stays open three hours after the vendor market closes, you can head over once the shopping wraps up.

The store closes just as the vendor market opens, so the morning goes to downtown and the afternoon goes to the club and the fire station. Organizers post updates on Facebook and Instagram at @adairfarmersmarket.

The back room comes next

The second half of 406 Audubon St. is still being finished. Byers plans to open the 406 Event Space before the end of the year. It has room for about 50 people, a full kitchen and a bathroom, and its own separate entrance is in the works. She plans to charge $50 to rent it for family gatherings, graduation parties and small groups.

If it opens on that schedule, the building that held a hardware store, a diner and then roofing supplies will have a grocery case up front, a copier for the town paper, free display space for fundraisers and a room for rent in back.

If you're out on Audubon Street or at the fire station on Dec. 5, we'd like to hear what you thought of the new setup. Lake Panorama Realty keeps up with what's happening in Adair and the rest of Guthrie County all year, and our door is open when you want to talk about your own corner of it. Let's Get in Touch.