Vendors at the 12th annual Christmas in the Mountains crafters sale, which took place on November 19th and 20th at the Elks Hall in Blairmore, were disappointed with the low number of shoppers who showed up.
While many people did attend, and several vendors sold their crafts and wares, the overall turnout was a drastic decrease from previous years.
Coleman resident Nichole Yanota, one of the vendors at this year’s sale, described the overall experience as “tragic”.
“On Friday night, there was almost no traffic, and it was incredibly hard to sit through,” she said. “The following day was better, but still so far from what I experienced there three years ago when I last did the market.”
According to Yanota, who specializes in hand-drawn pieces using coloured pencils, three years ago the market was busy and bustling throughout the entire course of the weekend, with hundreds of customers and even carollers coming through.
“I don’t know what happened this time,” said Yanota. “Events like this need to be nurtured and promoted or the vendors will suffer, and then they won’t come back.”
She said this will then obviously lead to vendor tables becoming fewer and fewer, ultimately resulting in a loss of interest by local shoppers.
A petition was circulated over the course of the two-day event, which is run every year by the ladies of the Crowsnest Pass Royal Purple Lodge, in support of encouraging the municipality to include the craft fair as part of Moonlight Madness festivities, in turn drawing more shoppers.
“Moonlight Madness brings a lot of people out, and it would probably bring a lot more to see the craft sale,” said Lynn Dalke, one of the vendors.
Yanota stressed the importance of creating opportunities for local artists and crafters to showcase their work in the Crowsnest Pass.
“If I compare the Crowsnest Pass to Fernie... I don’t think there is sufficient opportunity,” said Yanota, who displays her work full-time at the Fernie Artist’s Co-op and has also had a successful exhibition at the Fernie Arts Station.