21 November 2021
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Christmas doesn’t have to “cost the earth” this year. To celebrate Sustainability Month and their recent Silver Eco-label Award from Green Hospitality, The Imperial Hotel in Cork City is hosting a Sustainable Christmas Market today, in partnership with Fifty Shades Greener and Cork Zero Waste.
Their motto inspired by Princess Grace (actress Grace Kelly), who stayed at the hotel 60 years go, is ‘Don’t be like the rest of them Darling!’
Imperial Hotel
Picture: Miki Barlok
Imperial Hotel
Picture: Miki Barlok
Start your festive green experience on arrival as you enjoy a delicious hot chocolate at their sustainable Parklet benches on the South Mall. Busy elves will then whisk you upstairs to the ballroom which will host the Sustainable Christmas Market from 12pm to 4pm.
Here you’ll enjoy live music as your browse more than 15 stalls of local craftspeople, artisan makers, toy makers, and foodies to find unique gifts for yourself and others, along with a range of delicious treats. There will also be sustainable Christmas decoration making for kids on the day.
Exhibitors include Jiminy Eco Toys, Pinocchio’s, This is Chariot (sustainable clothing brand), Ivys Attic Jewellery, Cork Crafts, Eco Straws, Hannas Bee Wraps, Banana Melon Kitchen, Future Orchard, Bella Bleu Bridal, Earthway Refill, A Chick with 2 Stix, Escape Spa, Wildflower Creative, Cork Zero Waste, an Imperial Hotel Vegan food staff and coffee waste fertilizer stall,
The best bit? The event is free to attend and exhibit at, as The Imperial is inviting donations to be made to Cork Simon.
It might be steeped in over 200 years of history and tradition, but the Imperial has a thoroughly modern outlook when it comes to the environment. The Grande Dame of Cork, as the hotel is known, is hosting the Sustainable Christmas Market to celebrate their recent Silver Eco-label from Green Hospitality. The team received the prestigious award for introducing an Environmental Action Plan focusing on Energy, Waste & Water Management in a building which is over 200 years old. Their dedicated Imperial Green Team introduced numerous sustainability initiatives over the past year, including a #BecauseWeCare Programme, a sustainable restaurant ‘Thyme at Seventy-Six on the Mall’, a sustainable cocktail bar ‘Sketch’, which uses 99% Irish products, a sustainable parklet outside the front door, and policies such as green purchasing and environmental waste management.
The Imperial Hotel and their partner hotels in the Flynn Hotel Collection also just announced a Green Friday sale, which runs until 29th November. The stay sustainable offers include a 20% saving on all rooms and breakfast, in addition to bespoke welcome gifts for guests on arrival, which have been thoughtfully selected to showcase a local suppliers and producers in keeping with the Green Friday ethos. Guests at The Imperial will receive a Killahora Orchard Poiré Fine Perry, a sparkling tipple made from varieties of pears from the local Killahora Orchard, a family business dating back to 1750. The farm supplies the Imperial with many of the ingredients used in their signature cocktails.
Free to attend, the indoor Sustainable Christmas Market will run Sunday November 21 at the Imperial Hotel Cork. There is no need to pre-book but the event will be run in line with government restrictions and Covid-certs are necessary. For more see imperialhotelcork.com/sustainablechristmasmarket
