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Upper Arlington resident Dennis Knight has been chosen as this year's only international representative to participate in Striezelmarkt in Dresden, Germany.

Knight will sell his hand-crafted leather products from Nov. 25 to Dec. 24 at the annual holiday festival, which is now in its 570th year, and represent Columbus and its sister-city relationship with Dresden. A crowd of 2.5-million is expected to attend the 30-day festival.

Knight said he became familiar with Striezelmarkt through his participation in the event when it was held in Columbus in 1999, 2000 and 2002. He and his wife, Kathy, departed for Germany on Nov. 21.

"It ought to be pretty cool to see all the history and culture," he said. "Ohio has a lot of German heritage. You look at the names and you can see it."

A native of Williamsburg, Va., Knight served as an apprentice saddle and harness maker at Colonial Williamsburg from 1970 to 1973. He joined the Ohio Historical Society in 1974 when the Ohio Village opened as a living history venue depicting a mid-19th century county seat in Ohio.

After OHS changed the format of Ohio Village in early 2002, Knight continued on with the Ohio Historical Center grounds crew.

Knight continues to practice his leather-making craft on evenings and weekends as the owner of River Ridge Leather Inc. and proprietor of Roscoe Village in Coshocton. Volunteers and family members will run the shop while he's in Germany.

Knight said the products he is shipping to Dresden include sleigh bells, Christmas ornaments and leather belts, bags and briefcases.

"This is a wonderful opportunity, and I feel honored to have been chosen to represent Columbus," he said.

Torsten Krings, president of Dresden Sister City Inc. and owner of Westerville-based Travel Solutions Inc., said the Columbus sister city group was asked to choose a vendor for Striezelmarkt, which invites just one sister-city representative every other year among Dresden's 13 sister cities.

"My belief is Dennis will fit in well and his products will be popular," said Krings. "His leather goods will be unique among the many items available at Striezelmarkt and he will represent Columbus and the United States well."

Krings said Knights' leather goods were popular in the years that Striezelmarkt was held in Columbus.

"It was a natural choice for us to pick Dennis," he said. "He's a really nice guy and people will love watching him work and talking with him."

Knight will not only learn about German customs while in Dresden, but will share American culture as well, said Gary C. Ness, executive director emeritus for the Ohio Historical Society and a board member of Dresden Sister City Inc.

"I am optimistic he will be an extraordinary ambassador for the state of Ohio, for Columbus and for the Ohio Historical Society," he said.

Knight's three children will join him and his wife in Germany for the holidays, which they will spend with a German family. He said he looking forward to learning about German Christmas traditions and has been studying travel books to prepare for the trip.

"I did take a couple of years of German in high school," he said. "Hopefully it will all come back."