Duo is the Spirit Behind Carmel’s Christkindlmarkt
Writer / Heather Hunter
Photographer / Justin Sicking
While the rest of Carmel looks ahead to Thanksgiving, Brian and Maria Murphy are preparing for Christmas. As the masterminds behind Carmel’s Christkindlmarkt, they have plenty to do before the date comes.
“Planning really begins in January,” says Maria, chief executive officer and market master.
By now she and Brian, who serves as chief operating officer, are tying up loose ends before the market officially opens on November 20.
“It’s a long process, but it also means we get to celebrate Christmas year-round,” Maria says.
The Murphys are Indiana natives who bring their passion for adventure into their work. Maria experienced her first Christkindlmarkt as an exchange student in Germany. She still draws inspiration from the old-world markets of Europe.
“We want to make ours as authentic as possible, but still give it that stamp of Hoosier charm,” she says.
Brian focuses on that vision with his pragmatism. Outside of work he’s an avid backpacker, which has given him confidence in his decision-making skills and trained him to focus on what’s truly important in every situation.
On his first-ever backpacking trip to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, Brian and his group explored the region’s slot canyons – deep, quiet crevasses just several feet wide. It reminded him of exploring the model cave systems in the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis in his youth. The trip sparked his motivation to seek adventure in his life and travels.
“Any time you can get out into the wilderness, you have the opportunity to enjoy new challenges and learn about yourself,” Brian says. “All the peripheral things – emails, bills – they fall away very quickly. You experience successes and failures and get to learn from both.”
Brian will often apply specific situations from his travels to guide him in his life and work. Backpacking, he says, is always a learning experience.
“Failure will happen,” he says. “Mistakes aren’t the end of the world. I’ve learned to give myself time to second-guess and explore big decisions, and to balance that with trusting my own judgment. It’s served me well in the time since.”
Maria also enjoys the outdoors. In fact, she discovered her off-season passion, monarch butterfly rearing, while on a walk through a wooded area nearly a decade ago.
“The sun was coming through the trees and caught this monarch chrysalis hanging from a leaf,” she says. “It looked like a little piece of jewelry.”
She took the leaf home and watched as the chrysalis slowly turned transparent, then released the butterfly once it hatched.
Since then, Maria has raised and released a handful of monarchs every year. Her favorite spots to find eggs include Eagle Creek Park and in the vegetation alongside roadways. Once the caterpillars hatch, she feeds them milkweed and watches them grow. When the butterflies are ready, she releases them back into the wild for their migration to Mexico.
This year is Maria’s first year tagging her monarchs for study through an organization called Monarch Watch. Their website lists care instructions for those interested in rearing their own monarchs.
“I love that a caterpillar can transform from one thing into something completely different,” Maria says. “It speaks to how we don’t have to be stuck in our current state, which is such a beautiful and hopeful thing to me. I was a banker for 10 years. When I took the position with Christkindlmarkt, it felt like tapping into another state of being. I literally could not have imagined I would be running a German Christmas market in Carmel, Indiana. It would be like telling a caterpillar it would grow wings and be able to fly.”
Though she’d had some experience volunteering on a committee for the market, taking on the role of market master was a daunting task.
“It took a lot for me to trust my wings and believe I could step up to the challenge,” Maria says. “It’s been such a beautiful gift to be able to create an experience for families to come together and make memories for a lifetime.”
The duo’s tenacity and open-mindedness make them a great team to run the market. They constantly seek ways to improve and are excited for the changes to come this year. New features will include a pavilion with covered seating, a less-congested ice-skating queue, and some new food options like chimney cakes and doner kebabs.
For the first time, Actors Theatre of Indiana will perform a musical revue in a sing-along style perfect for families. The shows will take place four times per day on Saturdays and Sundays.
When it comes to COVID-19, the team is working on signage and hand sanitizing stations. They plan to keep a close eye on the situation as it unfolds.
“We have a plan A, but we also have a plan B, C and D based on what’s happening in November,” Maria says. “Our goal is to keep both our vendors and guests safe, and we’re confident we’ll be able to do that.”
In the future, Maria is looking into expanding kid-friendly activities and spaces at the market. She also plans to add more programs and shows. For now, though, she and Brian are doing their best to make Carmel Christkindlmarkt 2021 as magical as possible.
“I think it’s going to be the best year yet,” Maria says. “This event will mean so much more after everything that’s happened over the past two years.”
Carmel Christkindlmarkt will begin on November 20 and run until December 24. For a full list of dates and more information, visit carmelchristkindlmarkt.com. Brian and Maria are excited to see you there!
