Outdoor Market at Prospera Place this weekend
KELOWNA – June 7, 2021 – After a very long and uncertain year off, Craft Culture Events is excited to get back to work this weekend at the first of four outdoor Summer Markets at Prospera Place. On Sunday June 13th, the Prospera Place parking lot will be transformed into an outdoor market featuring 60 local craft and artisan vendors and 3 food trucks.
With restrictions loosening around the province, outdoor markets are once again permitted under the Provincial Health Orders. Teaming up with Prospera Place was a natural fit. Not only has the hockey arena hosted the annual Craft Culture Holiday Market for the last 8 years, but the parking lot provides a huge area where customers can distance and safely shop outside.
Between 10am and 3pm on Sunday June 13th, customers can browse 60 stalls of handmade products, all produced right here in British Columbia. Shabbang Food Truck, Dosa Crepe Café, and the Wicked Peach Food Truck will be on location serving up delicious food all afternoon. Admission to the market is by donation, with partial proceeds being donated to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society. Customers are reminded that physical distancing protocols will be in place, and to please wear a mask in situations where distancing is not possible.
Now more than ever, local makers are urging the community to come out and support small businesses at markets. As part of the hardest hit industries of the COVID-19 pandemic, this past year has been exceptionally hard on vendors who traditionally rely on markets to sell products. When most markets were forced to cancel last year, organizers and local vendors were left 100% reliant on online sales to generate income. While this did provide enough to keep most businesses afloat, many vendors barely scraped by or were forced to close down.
“It’s been tough” says Craft Culture owner Karalyn Lockhart. “There hasn’t been a lot of good news for local makers and market organizers over the last 14 months. Morale significantly dropped among vendors, and I received many calls from Craft Culture regulars saying that they couldn’t keep going and had to shut down. The ones that survived are ecstatic to get back out there and meet customers and sell their products face to face. We’ve been waiting a long time for this! Community support means everything right now!”
If you can’t make it this weekend, Craft Culture has 3 other markets planned this summer at Prospera Place:
July 11th 12:00pm – 6:00pm
August 1st 12:00pm – 6:00pm
September 19th 10:00am – 3:00pm
A full list of vendors and event info can be found at www.craftculture.ca
For customers who aren’t quite ready to visit markets, The Local Box provides an easy way to support local vendors without leaving the house. Craft Culture launched The Local Box after all large craft and artisan markets were forced to cancel in 2020. The Local Box is very similar to a subscription box; however, all products are created by local Canadian vendors and signing up for a membership is not required. Customers can pick up the boxes locally in Kelowna or Penticton, or have it shipped across Canada. The Local Box brings the Craft Culture market experience directly to the customer. Fathers Day boxes are now on sale! Visit local-box.ca to order.
