The first season of the Wilberforce Eclectic Market can be celebrated as a success.
So much so that one of the vendors was able to use their earnings and take a trip.
“One vendor made enough money for a trip for two to Australia. So that’s what we were hoping for, that people would pick up on the opportunity and take advantage of it,” said market organizer Mary Barker.
Overseen by Barker, the market started on the May long weekend of this year and wrapped up on the Labour Day weekend.
Held every Saturday and Sunday throughout the summer, the market featured a variety of items for sale, including baked goods, crafts, toys, antiques and artwork.
One booth featured mitts made from recycled fur for sale.
Although the market was never at full capacity, Barker was impressed with the quality of vendors and demonstrators that participated.
“We even had a church service one Sunday, the Anglican church brought their service to the market. They had lemonade and cookies on the lawn afterwards so that was fun and well attended. They said they had more people at the market church than the regular service,” she said.
The idea for an eclectic market initially came from Blaine Devouge, who approached Barker about organizing it.
Soon after she was at the helm for its entire duration.
Located next to the Agnew’s General Store on Loop Road, the market had at most 22 vendors, with the long-weekends being the busiest in terms of foot traffic and displays, said Barker.
The market also included not-for-profit vendors, who were looking to raise funds for their organization, such as radio station Canoe FM.
Vendors paid a $15 fee for each weekend.
“There were so many positive comments from the community that it seemed like every weekend was a carnival weekend, because of the market. There were cars lined up on both sides of the street,” said Barker.
The organizer is unsure at this point what the future holds for the market, but she is hoping to see it return in 2013.
“We’ll see. It will depend on whether the space is still available. I’ve got lots of plans for next year if we do go ahead with it,” she said.
For now the organizer is looking forward to a rest following a busy season.
“It was a really good summer and now I’m awfully tired,” laughed Barker.