Making the most with the least amount of money worked out for the St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce.
The organization celebrated the grand opening of its renovated office on Wednesday evening.
About 200 people came out for the event, many of whom commented on the great looks of the building – looks that were made possible by generous donations, hands-on work by chamber members and a bit of scrounging in local furniture stores, said president and CEO Lynda Moffat.
“Everybody toured the building and there were ohs and ahs,” she said. “We’ve been working really hard for seven months to get this building back in shape … we are so proud of how the building looks.”
The chamber office is located at 71 St. Albert Trail, beside Superstore. The chamber took over the building after the city’s economic development team moved out in January.
Moffat said both of their boardroom renovations were made possible with donations from a local business and they were able to find a lot of furniture that was for sale or used and could be restored. The building now also features paintings by local artist Alan Nuttall.
Building on the success of their first children’s items sale, the Kinderland Market is holding another big event this Saturday.
About 85 vendors will attend, said organizer Zoe Spaans, with sales of new and used items by local families and businesses, and a Kinder Korral area for home and handmade items. Spaans said the event is very popular because it eliminates the need for parents to move from one garage sale to the next.
“I think the big win for parents is that they can score a lot of stuff for a really good price,” she said. “You know, lots of clothes and big ticket items and that can help make child-rearing that much cheaper.”
The first Kinderland Market took place in April and saw about 650 shoppers come out. Spaans said people visited from all over St. Albert, Edmonton, Sturgeon County and surrounding communities.
Best sellers are big-ticket items such as strollers or baby chairs and she advises bargain hunters to come out early. Last time, line-ups formed 30 minutes before the event, she said.
This weekend, the event will also give out door prices: the big win is a two-night stay at the Delta Lodge in Kananaskis. The first 500 shoppers will also get swag bags filled with coupons and small gifts from the vendors. Admission to the Kinderland Market is $5. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Servus Credit Union Place.
