When Tracie and I started at Experience Armstrong, one of our goals was to expand the Welcome Center to include a retail section that focused on locally-made wares and gift items that highlighted what makes Armstrong County special. We’re excited to announce that we have opened our retail shop! While the shop is open during our business hours, we wanted to provide both visitors and locals an opportunity to do some last-minute holiday shopping outside of business hours. We will be hosting a Holiday Mini-Market at the Welcome Center on Saturday, December 17, from 10 AM-6 PM! Stop by to browse locally-made wares and other Armstrong County-related gift items, purchase cookies from Whisk & Wildflour, meet with local author Mary Kathryn Koma, and enjoy some free hot chocolate and popcorn.
Shop our growing retail section
Local items include:
- Jewelry boxes, earrings, whittled ornaments, and birdhouses from Fair’s Woodshop
- Prints and postcards from Donna Weckerly Photography
- Reusable travel cups from Armstrong Trails
- Candles and lip balm from Earthbound Apothecary
- Honey and salves from Kopar Honey Farm
- Crayons and inspirational coloring sheets from A Simple Melody
- Blank greeting cards from Diane Transue of Transue’s Custom Framing
- Soap, tick repellant, bug spray, and lip balm from Yamali Naturals
- Novels from local author Mary Kathryn Koma
Other gift items include:
- Wooden state and county ornaments
- Nature illustration prints and stickers
- Armstrong County tea towels
- “724” and “Armstrong Co.” hats
- Armstrong County vintage map wristlets and tote bags
Whisk & Wildflour of Rural Valley will also be selling individually-wrapped cookies and holiday cookie gift sets.
Meet author Mary Kathryn Koma
Local author Mary Kathryn Koma will be on-site signing copies of her latest book, When the Fog Rolls In: Tales and Intrigue Encircling Sagamore. Koma writes historical fiction based in local Armstrong County communities. Her first novel, The Creek Don’t Rise: Yatesboro Yarns Down Company Row, is based in Yatesboro, while her second novel, Cobwebs a’ Plenty: A Search for Solace in the Shwanee Valley, focuses on Rural Valley and Numine. Her most recent work is based in Sagamore.
Visit Experience Armstrong, Inc.
Whether you’re enjoying Christmas Brunch at The Meredith Inn, decorating cookies with Santa at the Richard G. Snyder YMCA, stopping in to visit with Santa at Flowers on Mulberry for their holiday open house, attending the Kittanning Santa Jingle pub crawl, or picking up gifts at Earthbound Apothecary’s Christmas Shopping Extravaganza, we hope to see you at the Welcome Center at 125 Market Street in Kittanning on Saturday, December 17!
– Cheyenne Filous, Experience Armstrong, Inc. Director
