In a weekend all about celebrating women, the Fourth Annual Cariboo Women’s Fair was a success.
Despite the less-than-ideal weather outside, on May 5 women gathered for the Ladies Night Out, while on May 6 everyone was invited to roam the marketplace and take part in the Wellness Workshops.
“It’s been absolutely fabulous. It’s been so much fun. All the women here, the vendors and the guests have just been having a great time and enjoying shopping, enjoying connecting, enjoying having community, listening to live music, watching belly dancers and participating in the workshops. It’s been really great,” says organizer Deanna Deacon.
She describes the “caliber and quality” of the entertainment on Friday evening as “phenomenal.”
“It was fun. It was great energy. Women were just dancing down the alleyways and just having a great time. It was nice.” she says.
Saturday was a little quieter, but Deacon says the market was an equal success.
“The quality of the products that are available here and the beautiful displays that have been set up from the vendors is just phenomenal. They did a really amazing job and made the fair beautiful so kudos to all of the vendors for that,” says Deacon.
“I think people were really happy to come and get some Mother’s Day gifts, get some trinkets for themselves, maybe something sparkly… It’s a beautiful thing to do on a snowing spring day when you want to lift yourself up a bit.”
The vendors were similarly positive about the event.
Jodi Christianson of Rustic Elements was at the fair on both Friday and Saturday promoting her shop.
She handed out carnations to many of the vendors and participants on the Friday.
“It was a great way to touch base with everybody and just a little thank you and to touch base with the community,” she says.
“It’s a good opportunity to just say hi away from the store and just put the flowers in people’s hands,” she says.
Peggy Archer, of the Ceder Crest Society, took the opportunity to bring some young women to the event.
“I think it’s great so far what I’ve seen. [I’m] taking the girls around so they can see actually what a women’s fair is all about,” she says.
It was the first time the girls had been to a women’s fair.
Archer says the girls enjoyed meeting the female vendors and looking at all the products on display. She says it was an opportunity to showcase women, “because it’s all about women. They are growing up so they will soon be women.”
Deacon hopes people who bought products or gained information about services from the fair will be able to use it down the road.
“It was phenomenal and if anyone missed it this year, please come back next year because we had a great time.”