For Matt and Bridget Jones, a dream launched from the depths of COVID isolation will end before Christmas.

They had pinned their hopes of keeping Wildberry Farm alive with weekend markets: drawing crowds of people with food grown on the farm, artisans selling their wares and a sense of something more precious to them, community.

It didn’t work.

“Sometimes things happen and we don’t know necessarily why,” said Bridget, the self-described dreamer of the couple. “But then, our life has been a series of just, you know, pivoting and ebbs and flows, and that’s just life.

“Same thing with the farm. This was an iteration that lived its course at this point.”

Over the last century, Matt’s family has grown tobacco and then, when the demand for Maryland burley died, produce on 300 acres in Crownsville.

Maybe it was the location, deep down a twisty road 35 minutes from Annapolis and a long drive from anywhere. Maybe it was the competition — weekend markets that popped up to draw bigger crowds or offer more agritourism activities.

Maybe it was the changing community around them — suburban homes and BMWs, creeping ever closer.

“So, what we’re doing is we’re racing against time,” Bridget said, “just trying to keep these green spaces.”

Matt sold his boat restoration business in 2019, with plans to make the farm work. When the buyers didn’t keep Bridget on in the marketing department, the couple came up with a plan for farm-sourced monthly dinners.

“There were so many things happening, and that’s what gave birth to Wildberry,” Matt said. “Then COVID, and that’s what gave birth to the markets.”

At first, vendors were like family. Bridget captured it in her blog, Field Notes, casting a rosy, home-again glow over the whole enterprise.

“When you go into it and you’re thinking, I’m going to do something beautiful and something great for the community,” Bridget said. “Then at the end of it, you’re like, wow, that crashed and burned.”

First, a few vendors didn’t show up, heading for newer markets. The Joneses had to start their own food truck when the ones they counted on disappeared. There was a weekend without fresh flowers because the seller had a wedding booked.

Maybe, the Joneses admit, they forgot it was an enterprise — and that, as someone will quickly say, business isn’t personal. When vendor registration opened in January, the response was “crickets.”

Bridget’s blog became an outlet for frustration, instead of essays about crafts and home-canned food. This fall, she accepted the inevitable and looked to the future.

“What I built was never about a farm,” Bridget wrote. “It was never about produce or eggs or handcrafted goods. It was never about markets or magic under string lights. It was always about healing.”

So, here is the end. Two final markets, both Christmas-themed. Matt will sell his ornaments made from old tobacco drying sticks, included in a home-crafts collection named for his Swedish ancestry, Jul På Gården. They run 1-5 p.m. Saturday and Dec. 13.

There will be farm fresh eggs, and the vendors who stuck it out to the end.

Bridget will turn to a sideline as a lifestyle coach, while Matt begins work on the next venture — a farm brewery. They want to restart the farm dinners.

And if the Joneses need a sign that this idea will succeed, it’s in the bramble below the old hilltop hunting-dog kennels, long repurposed for chickens.

Somebody, somewhere in the history of Wildberry Farm, planted the essential beer ingredient, hops.

“Actually, I mean, it’s favorable additions here for them, so it’s good,” Matt said. “I’ll figure it out.”

Here are some other holiday markets coming up.

The original holiday market in Annapolis, of course, is Midnight Madness. Shops stay open late on three consecutive Thursday nights, complemented by music, food and shopping. It returns this week, then repeats on Dec. 11 and 18.

Also on Saturday, check out the West Annapolis Holiday Market at 20 Ridgely Ave. RAR Brewing will be pouring beer and sparkling wine with oysters and caviar at the market, where more than 30 vendors will offer food, gifts and fun. Santa will visit from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and there will be s’mores and music around firepits.

The Sons and Daughters of Italy say “Buona Natale!” (that’s “Merry Christmas!”) on Sunday with their Annapolis Italian Christmas Market. Babbo Natale (Father Christmas, or Italy’s Santa Claus) will join the food, crafts and fun to meet the kids.

The first block of West Street shuts down regularly for outdoor dining and street festivals, and the holidays are no different. The Holiday Market on West Street coincides with the Dec. 11 Midnight Madness, offering late hours in shops, vendors and live entertainment.

The Annapolis Holiday Market runs over two weekends, on Dec. 13 and from Dec. 18-21. It’s at St. John’s College this year, shifting because of construction at City Dock. About 100 vendors will sell crafts and food amid live entertainment, with free admission.

South of Annapolis, Honey’s Harvest Farm holds weekly and monthly markets in Lothian, so of course they have a Holiday Market. More than 30 artists, artisans, bakers, brewers and chefs will set up at this year’s market.

Here’s a look at other events through Dec. 10.

Scrooge and friends

7:30 p.m. Thursday

Classic Theatre of Maryland raises the curtain on its second major holiday production, “A Christmas Carol.”

The show has weekend and weeknight performances concurrently with the company’s production of “White Christmas.” Tickets are $61 to $89, with shows on weekends and select weekdays through Dec. 27.

Holiday Swing, the holiday entry in the theater company’s monthly cabaret series, takes place Monday and Tuesday.

Classic Peanuts

8 p.m. Friday

Boomers still rule the holidays, and the Charlie Brown Christmas concert at Maryland Hall is a prime example.

The Eric Byrd Trio will perform those familiar, jazzy Vince Guaraldi tunes from the 1965 animated TV special “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Based on the Charles Schulz comic strip characters, the concert includes “Christmas Time Is Here” and “Linus and Lucy.”

Admission is $41, with discounts for children. Tickets for the 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday shows are sold out.

Eat this

11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday

Spend the day sampling chocolates from 40 vendors at the Chocolate Binge Festival. West Street turns into a tasting center once a year, with truffles, caramels, bars, fudge, cookies, cakes, martinis, French macarons, cupcakes, pies, brownies and more for sale.

General admission is $5 plus taxes and fees, with a tasting package that includes 15 tickets for samples at $20 plus taxes and fees.

All the carols

3 p.m. Sunday

The Live Arts Maryland women’s ensemble performs some of the best holiday pop standards, including “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “The Christmas Song” and a jazzy “Jingle Bells.”

Admission to the Christmas With Cantori performance at the Live Arts Studio in Annapolis Mall is $30, with discounts for teens, seniors and active-duty military.

Community concert

3 p.m. Sunday

The Bay Winds Band will hold its Christmas concert at St. Martin’s Lutheran School. Admission is free.

A cappella revue

6-7 p.m. Tuesday

The Annapolis Blend, a women’s a cappella group, is presenting “All Is Bright in Blendville: A Musical Holiday Revue” at the Busch Annapolis Library.

The group is a four-part a cappella chorus singing in the barbershop style about “Blendville, USA,” a town filled with characters who delight in holiday music. Admission is free.