Ann Pullen walked around the space at 5 Broad St. on Friday evening and remarked at the wide range of products on display.

From handmade birdhouses featuring flowers or sports team logos to candles surrounded by fresh greenery, perfect for a dining room table, they all will be available today at the Cotton Block Art Market.

The event is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will feature several local art vendors and refreshments. “It’s something the merchants of the Cotton Block sponsored last year because we had this space available,” said Pullen, who is helping as an organizer. “It turned out that we still had the space available this year so we decided to do it again.”

More than 20 artists based in Rome and Floyd County will fill the vacant space on Broad Street and invite visitors to look and come away with unique gifts for Christmas.

“Many of the items are gift-type items and not that expensive,” Pullen said. “They are good for the holidays and there is also a wide variety of things. Both of those make it an attractive market to come to.”

Some of the offerings include jewelry, pottery, knitted clothing, lamps and woodcarvings. “I think people love the local artists that come out,” Pullen said. “Many of them also attend the Chiaha Harvest Fair, so they are familiar with them.”

The market originally opened last year in hopes of getting the people who were attending the NAIA Football National Championship game at Barron Stadium to come to the Cotton Block.

When the game was rescheduled this year to take place on a Thursday night, Pullen said that they still wanted to have the event because of the large numbers of local residents that attended last time.

“So, I don’t know how many (NAIA game attendees) we’ll have come in that stayed after the game this time around, but we’ll be glad to have them,” Pullen said.