St. Albert to get its first night market

It was a stroll across the night markets in France that inspired some of the events planned for St. Albert's downtown this summer.

Christian Prefontaine says the shops, open long into the night, and the booths lining the streets, impressed him. So when the 16-year-old applied for a job with St. Albert's youth entrepreneur program, Gen Y CEO, he proposed to create a night market here.

Now the Perron District will have its first one on July 17. There will be booths on the sidewalks, and stores open until 11 p.m., he says. But the market is only one of many events planned by Prefontaine and five other youth from the community. Their job this summer is to bring people downtown.

“I think it is important for people to go downtown,” says Prefontaine. “I think if the community supports the downtown a lot more, then as a community we will be more successful.”

The Gen Y CEO program was created in 2014 by the city's economic development team and the Northern Alberta Business Incubator. It hoped to encourage youth to learn what it takes to start and run a business.

The youth had to propose a business idea that was tourism-related, and then run their business for six weeks. Funding and mentorship was provided by the city. The first business was a gourmet ice-cream shop, operated by two recent graduates of Bellerose Composite High School.

But economic development decided to change the program a little this year, says Joan Barber, manager of business retention and expansion. The youth now had to create a business that would specifically plan events to “vitalize the downtown.”

The city also partnered with both the incubator and Junior Achievement to mentor the youth. They chose the youth based on enthusiasm and attitude, not on existing skillsets, she says.

“We told them what the business was but it's still up to them how to run the business,” she says. “That's how the Junior Achievement program works. It's really about being there to guide them but it's up to them to figure things out on their own.”

Some of the events now planned this summer include Fit Thursdays, a free, two-hour fitness course hosted by St. Albert trainers. The workout class will take place once a week behind St. Albert Place, starting July 16, says Prefontaine.

The youths also organized a taste-testing event on July 15 called Street Meat. The idea is for residents to come downtown and try samplers from different restaurants, he says.

Other possible projects include a concert night with St. Albert musicians, a block party and a movie night. They also want to host a date night “where you can buy flowers and have a nice meal,” he says. But they are still working out the details on some of those events, he stresses.

Prefontaine, who wants to sell his own products one day, is not sure event planning is a career he wants to pursue. But all six of them are learning a lot about business, he says. Not only do they know more about regulations and licensing now. They also talk to many of the business owners, and hear their stories and concerns, he says.

“It's been interesting to me, kind of the way it works and there are so many whys that have to be asked,” he laughs. “And now the why questions are all starting to make sense.”

Funding for the program is split between the city and the business incubator. Each contributed $15,000 and the youth create a budget based on each event, says Barber. They work about 20 hours a week and earn $12 an hour. If money is left over by the end of the summer, it will be saved for next year's program, she says.

It's not only the youth who learn from the program, though. Downtown revitalization is one of economic development's goals, she says.

“We will learn from everything the youth do,” she says. “And hopefully by the end of the summer it will give them an idea of entrepreneurship.”