Two Cowboys: Last Market for 2016 at Home with Canmore Christmas Artisans' Market in Alberta, Canada

At Home

Christmas is at home this year. Home is where the heart is. Home is also the place where friends and family work all year to support themselves and contribute to their community.

Canmore's Christmas Artisans' Market is our local Christmas market in this beautiful Rocky Mountain town. It is the market where we have our Chocolatier, Coffee Roaster, Potter and Woodcarver. Eighty local and visiting crafters attend the two-day market each year, which is in its 21st year.

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The Market was created in 1996 as a fundraising event for the parent-cooperative Canmore Preschool Society. It has been a successful annual event ever since that takes place on the third weekend in November. Vendors come from Invermere and across Alberta to spend the weekend in the mountains with Canmorians.

There is a high standard for goods at the market, and Artists and Artisans are carefully selected for their creativity and craftsmanship in addition to balancing the variety of offerings available at the market. Because it is a local market, Bow Valley residents receive preference. All goods are handmade and sold by the person who made them.

The market continues to be the largest annual fundraiser for Canmore Preschool and takes place at the Canmore Collegiate High School.

Observations

We attended on Sunday morning, the second day of the market. We were due to fly out to Auckland New Zealand the afternoon for our last visit to the Islands. We just couldn't pass up an opportunity to quickly check in on our friends. Every possible space was filled with the creativity of another artist or producer. Some were at their usual spots and others were newcomers. It included many familiar local and out of town faces from previous years.

The market is almost like a giant reunion for crafters. Vendors become friends as they attend market after market, year after year. They connect and take stock of their year's achievements. It is also an opportunity to make one more last sale before packing in for the Winter, and a welcome break with family and friends.

Because the market is well attended by the same vendors year-after-year, it provides an opportunity to see the Artisans' development. They display new and innovative products. You can witness improvement in their craftsmanship. The wares are often made just a little bit better than
the year before.

Attending the market is not so much about shopping as it is an opportunity to visit good old friends. That is why a local market is such an attraction for us. It brings people together. We love visiting our markets and tell the stories of the people that make the market a local market. Our market.

Thank you for supporting our market indulgence. We appreciate you sharing our content and rely on your continued support and sponsorship in 2017 when we will revisit our familiar places, meet with folks, friends and add to our portfolio of market coverage across Canada and New Zealand.

We do it because our local markets are the souls of our communities. It is where businesses ultimately begin. It is where we invest in ourselves.

Hendrik van Wyk
Artisan Cowboy

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Jelly Friends 

Coffee Friends

Two Cowboys: Small Businesses and Artisans at the Spruce Meadows Christmas Market 2016 in Calgary, Alberta

Horses and Reindeer

Rudolph is sleeping. That is what we were told when we visited the Spruce Meadows Christmas Market for 2016 on opening weekend. All the other Reindeer were there. They were getting ready for the annual Christmas Night marathon with Mr Clause. Rudolph may not be disturbed. He is preparing in his way. By meditating at Spruce Meadows.

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There isn't much snow around Calgary, Alberta yet. The temperatures are dropping for sure and that means winter is here. It also means that Christmas is near.

The market at Spruce Meadows is one of the biggest in Alberta. At the market, there are more than 250 Artisan vendors that come from as far as Quebec and Nanaimo. They all make their annual pilgrimage to Alberta's Prairie city to tap into the biggest opportunity offered by Canada's fastest growing city. Some consider the market as their significant opportunity for last-minute revenue before Christmas. Call it their Christmas bonus.

The International Christmas Market is held over three weekends. This year it is November 18-20, November 25-27 and December 2-4, 2016.

Hand-Made in Alberta

There were many familiar faces at the market. They are the vendors we've met during our year of covering the area's Farmers' Markets. It is encouraging to see so many of the local producers well represented. Some local producers use the market to launch a new product or new packaging. The agricultural producers like the cheese makers, beekeepers and maple syrup vendors, all bring their products to market after the year's good harvest.

There were also new vendors that launched their products for the first time. A Christmas market is a great opportunity for fledgeling producers to validate their offering. They can give prospective customers a first-hand taste or view of their goods and solicit immediate feedback. It is also they time when they discover just how much work goes into building their businesses.

The Christmas Market is the perfect place to unwind with friends and soak up the festive atmosphere. It is the perfect place to shop, dine and socialise. It is a great opportunity to support our local producers. Spruce Meadows is the ideal venue for the market with lots of indoor space, the agricultural setting, and ample parking.

If there is one item missing from the market it would be our mobile food vendors we encountered all over Alberta's markets. We understand that the weather doesn't always co-operate to have food vendors outside. On the other hand, we've covered amazing food producers that will jump at the opportunity to help feed the thousands of visitors at this market. We are Canadian after all. Who is worried about a little cold?

Calgary may not be the most optimistic city in Canada at the moment due to continuing economic pressures. The market showed little of the recession. While spending may be under pressure in the city, local production is up. People are making more things. Christmas cakes, gloves, chocolate, bags, cheese, perogies, woodcraft, shoe polish, and much, much more. If there are no readily available jobs in the city, there will always be enterprising folk that finds a way.

The Spruce Meadows Market is such a way where you can bring your wares to market, and you can support your neighbour. We are glad we made the trip. We are glad we can meet our friends and neighbours at the market. Most importantly, we are glad that our money spent is going towards helping a neighbour grow his or her local business.

Merry Christmas!

Hendrik van Wyk
Christmas Cowboy

Get rewarded for supporting our local Producers: Receive special offers and invitations from the Two Cowboys and our Producers when you subscribe to our email list.

We are a content company. We earn our livelihood from producing great content about inspiring people and their stories. We use Patreon to help us earn from our work. It allows us to have a closer relationship with our collaborators and grow our audience. If you Sponsor us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/twocowboys or Donate to our cause on GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/twocowboys we can do a lot more.

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Getting Ready

Did You See That!

Bells

Welcome

Get On The Train

Two Cowboys: Okotoks Market Square Christmas Market 2016 in Okotoks, Alberta

The Season is Here

We are all for markets in our local communities. In Okotoks, the people are too.

Andrea Wilton-Clark and her team at Okotoks Market Square found another excuse to bring together 135 vendors and thousands of people over the past weekend to prepare for Christmas in the traditional way: By shopping!

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It is shopping with a difference because it is shopping locally with artisans. These are people that make things in their barns, their basements and sometimes in their living rooms. You won't find their products in retail stores because, most of what they do costs so much to make that they simply cannot part with the little profit that is left. This is not a bad thing at all. Let me explain.

Artisans make their products with good quality, high-end materials. They engage with their customers personally. There is simply no way that you can sell something if you know it is not of quality. Your friends, your family and your community support you. That is why you, the consumer is assured of the best possible product when your local Artisan makes and sells you something. They have to face you personally and stand up for their product.

There is another difference. What you buy is often unique, one-of-a-kind items. Even if it looks similar, every item is lovingly crafted by hand and comes with something a little extra: A bit of the Producers soul.

Lastly, if it breaks and needs repair, is finished and needs refilling, or must be replaced because it simply managed to make it to its end of life, then you can always look up the master maker. The person who's hands crafted you your favourite item or product is the best person to help you get it back in working order, refilling your jar, or replacing it with the next generation hand-crafted model.

That is why we shop at our local markets. That is why we appreciate the things our Artisans made us.

I must confess. I didn't know just how lively the Artisan maker scene is in Okotoks until I started to do a bit more research about Andrea's endeavours at The Market Square.

Market Impressions 

Okotoks MarketSquare was established by Adriana Bratu and Andrea Wilton-Clark in 2010 with a vision to create regular community events and to bring better exposure to local artists, artisans and small businesses in the region.

MarketSquare's first event was a small cluster of local vendors showcasing unique products with local musicians entertaining the crowds on a grassed park area in downtown Okotoks. The events quickly grew in size and popularity. Today MarketSquare offers five major market-style indoor as well as outdoor events and works with over eight hundred locally based vendors and small businesses.

MarketSquare now offers an extensive online platform with a directory and detailed profile, information, photo galleries, and website links to local artisans and boutique small businesses.  See it here: https://www.themarketsquare.ca

The online directory makes it simple to connect with vendors before as well as after events.  Andrea is also publishing articles on the site to tell the stories of our local artisans to bring continuous attention to them throughout the year! Soon you will find more videos as well courtesy of the Two Cowboys & A Camera.

We applaud her and her team. We look forward to featuring more of their events. Most importantly, we look forward to meeting more of the Artisans that make it possible for Andrea and us to do what we do and for you to get something of quality made locally.

Hendrik van Wyk
Market Cowboy

Get rewarded for supporting our local Producers: Receive special offers and invitations from the Two Cowboys and our Producers when you subscribe to our email list.

We are a content company. We earn our livelihood from producing great content about inspiring people and their stories. We use Patreon to help us earn from our work. It allows us to have a closer relationship with our collaborators and grow our audience. If you Sponsor us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/twocowboys or donate to our cause on GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/twocowboys we can do a lot more.

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Welcome

The Best Coal

For Your Boots

For Your Butt

Happy Artisans

The Perogy Guy

o-CNN: Christmas 2016 at the Calgary Farmers' Market in Alberta, Canada

Not Just a Summer Thing

It is that time of year again. We were just getting ready for 2016, to realize that it slipped out right from under us. It is almost gone. Before we know it we will have survived Christmas too. It is likely to be a non-event this year with all the other things that took place to make this an epic year.

Or, will it?

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You know it is the last few days when the snow starts to fall and the bells start to ring. It is that time of year when you get those mysterious little notes around the house. Notes with hints. Suggestions. Lists. On your desk. Under your pillow. On Facebook!

The Two Cowboys also received a note. It came from Kerry Miller, the Calgary Farmers' Market Event Organizer. She invited us to find out what is on offer at the market for Christmas. A first for the Calgary market. We thought that Farmer's Markets were a Summer only affair. We were wrong.

By now you probably know we cannot let an invitation to a market go unanswered. We had to oblige and find out more. We found that it is a new holiday tradition at the Calgary Farmers’ Market titled as Calgary’s "Newest" Christmas Market.  From November 18th to December 11th, 2016 you will be able to visit all of the favourite vendors, plus a number of new and exciting "pop-up" holiday vendors offering Yuletide gifts, food, jewellery, décor and more. Everything for your lists.

There will be plenty of activities from Santa and Carollers to gifting workshops and kids’ activities. It is more of the good things you are accustomed to at the market, only Christmassy.

The festivities kicks off on the 18th of November. More details here.

It is free to attend and guaranteed to fill your stockings, empty your wallet and put smiles on your family's faces. Now you have another excuse to hang out with friends at our local market. You may just find us there too. It is our people.

Thank you for the invitation, Kerry!
Glad we received your note.

Hendrik van Wyk
Christmas Cowboy

Get rewarded for supporting our local Producers: Receive special offers and invitations from the Two Cowboys and our Producers when you subscribe to our email list.

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