Opportunities for Saturday shopping in St. Albert have grown this summer with both the St. Albert Curling Club and the St. Albert Legion creating venues for vendors.
Both marketplaces opened their doors (across the street from each other) earlier this month. A heavy emphasis on advertising and promotion has helped the curling club's market to flourish while the legion marketplace has so far remained a smaller affair.
The curling club started up its Health and Wellness Summer Showcase on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in July and August and the legion summer offering goes at the same time on Saturdays until Aug. 18.
Curling club general manager Lynda Holden said she pulled the weekly marketplace together very quickly and is pleased with the results.
"It's been going good. Every week it seems to get better," she said.
Holden said the showcase has a base of 15 regular weekly vendors plus others who purchase space for one or more weeks. The cost for a spot is $60 per day. The curling club has been averaging about 20 registered vendors every week.
"We still have people booking," said Holden. "Every week we have new people coming on board."
Lynda Moffat, president and CEO of the St. Albert & District Chamber of Commerce, said the vendors at the Health and Wellness Summer Showcase are not the kind of businesses that would be allowed in the chamber's popular weekly farmers' market.
She said the chamber is supportive of the curling club initiative.
"We told them we would support them one hundred per cent if they were inside and not a farmers' market," Moffat said.
Vendors at the curling club include Expedia Cruise Ships Centre, Mary Kay cosmetics, Isagenix nutritional products and Tupperware.
For Edmonton jewelry designer Shirley Zago, part of the appeal of the club's showcase is the opportunity to be indoors during Edmonton's unpredictable summer weather.
"This is nice to have a venue where people can come inside," she said. "It's air-conditioned when it's really hot or when it's raining it's nice to be able to come inside."
For Charlaine Chapdelaine, the Health and Wellness Summer Showcase presents the chance to introduce her business – Epicure Selections – to the St. Albert market.
"I do a lot of other markets and I have a lot of business in Edmonton, but I want to build more business in St. Albert," she said.
The local businesswoman is confident that the Health and Wellness Summer Showcase will continue to pick up steam as the summer progresses.
"It's been steady, but of course with it being a newer market it'll take a little bit of time for people to find out and the clients build up but I think it'll be good," she said.
Zago said that she has seen traffic into the curling club increase over the weeks.
"It's just beginning and it's great. We have all kinds of vendors here, we have music, we have Dairy Queen … What more do you want?"
Holden said that she was disappointed with the customer turnout the first week, but vendors reassured her that it would take time to grow.
"They've been very positive," she said. "Very positive that it's going to grow, it's just a matter of getting people to know they're there."
She estimates the weekly event is now bringing in about 500 people every Saturday and said the Health and Wellness Summer Showcase will definitely be back next summer.
"Absolutely we're going to do it annually," she said.
Legion market
On Saturday the legion was offering a barbecue and drink specials in an attempt to draw customers. The marketplace featured four vendors, including PartyLite and Pampered Chef.
It was the second week for Jasmin Jarisch with Pampered Chef. Business was, "for me, a little bit slow," she said.
The same was true for PartyLite consultant Diane Johnson.
"Today it's been a little slow, but the weather is a little damper so that kind of does it," she said.
