Carlyle's first Spring Market will be held April 18 at the Carlyle Memorial Hall, and 鈥渨ill have over 30 vendors on hand to meet all of our customers' shopping needs,鈥� says organizer Christina Birch.
Birch-who also organized a pre-Valentine's Day winter market and trade show held in Carlyle in February, says the success of that event encouraged her to hold a larger, spring market.
鈥淲e decided to hold a spring show for a couple of reasons,鈥� says Birch. 鈥淔irst of all, there are so many fantastic people in this area selling unique products, and it is a great opportunity to showcase them. Secondly, the more shopping opportunities that we can create in our own community, the better. It is fantastic to see locals supporting locals and keeping money within the local economy.鈥�
鈥淚t not only brings people to the trade show, but those who come, also stop in at some of the amazing shops and restaurants that we have here in Carlyle. And we had such fantastic feedback from those who attended our last event, that we decided to do it again.鈥�
Birch says that the winter event's success set the stage for the larger, spring show.
鈥淲e were pleased with the turnout for our Winter Market and Trade Show,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was the first one we had organized, so it was purposely on a smaller scale than our Spring Market will be. We wanted to make sure our first market was well-organized, and ran smoothly. It also gave us an opportunity to gauge vendor interest and community support.鈥�
鈥淲e made the decision to move the spring show to the (Carlyle) Memorial Hall (from the Happy Gang Club) due to the sheer amount of interest shown by vendors throughout Saskatchewan and Manitoba and the level of support we received from citizens in this area.鈥�
Birch is also a representative for Color By Amber, an eco-friendly, ethically-produced jewellery line for men, women, and children, and will be a vendor at the event.
鈥淲e want to make our shows a great experience for our customers and our vendors,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e decided to take applications (from vendors) for this trade show rather than do a first come, first serve show, because we wanted to offer our customers the best quality products and the most diverse selection of vendors possible. We have had applications come in from business owners throughout Saskatchewan and Manitoba and have a great selection to choose from. We'll have over 30 vendors on hand to meet all of our customers' shopping needs.鈥�
Birch says when the vendor list is finalized, it will be posted on the market's Facebook event page at: and on its webpage at: .
鈥淲e had a large number of applications,鈥� says Birch. 鈥淚t's a hard job for the selection committee. We've received applications for anything and everything you could imagine, from eco-friendly and socially-responsible jewellery to handmade natural bath and body products.鈥�
鈥淲e have had applications for homemade crafts, leggings, nail products, beauty products, essential oils, mortgage brokers, kitchen products, authors and their books...the list goes on and on.鈥�
鈥淲e also are trying to keep the fees as low as possible for our vendors,鈥� adds Birch. 鈥淲e wanted to provide an opportunity for businesses to showcase their products and services, while still being reasonable in terms of a business expense for them.鈥�
鈥淎ny money generated in excess from the trade show will be donated to a local community group.鈥�
Birch says that there is no entry fee to attend the market and trade show. 鈥淭he first 100 people through the door will receive a goody bag full of coupons and special offers from our vendors,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e have even had some local businesses provide coupons for the goody bags, too.鈥�
鈥淲e were lucky and had no difficulty getting our first market in motion,鈥� she says. 鈥淎ll it took were a few individuals who wanted to make it happen. And combined with the support of the community of Carlyle and surrounding communities, we had ourselves a well-attended market.鈥�
鈥淲e are hoping to get a great turnout for our upcoming market as well. We've had applications from all over Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It's shaping up to be a fantastic market!鈥�
The Carlyle Spring Market and Trade Show will be held April 18 from 10 a.m.-3p.m. at the Carlyle Memorial Hall. There is no admission charge to attend.
