Tis the Season for Winter Markets

To Whom it May Concern,

Counios and Gane attended the Argyle North Community Winter Market. I was taken back to the neighborhood where I spent most of my childhood and teen years. My writing partner and I took the opportunity to be present in a neighborhood we don’t typically attend for book events.

How the day started

How a day begins sets the tone for the rest of the day. This is especially important when selling products we love—our books. Book markets can be a workout. I mean, books are heavy! Depending on how close I can get to the building, how many stairs there are, and how far our table is from the entrance I prepared myself for a mini morning workout, starting with the lightest box and my backpack.

However, I was greeted by a man and three boys in bright green volunteer t-shirts. “Can I help you with that?” One boy asked. I was taken by surprise. “Me? With this?” I showed him the bin. “Yes. I can take that.” He took the bin from me. The other boys grabbed the boxes from my vehicle. There was no heavy lifting. What there was, was a friendly greeting at the door with all sorts of help. This was the right way to start. This was also a first for me to have help at a market.

How it went

David and I spent the day talking to shoppers and readers, selling books, and listening to Christmas music. The entire experience was very festive. It had the essence of “Christmas is truly coming“. David and I also noted that many of the customers were in Christmassy attire: fun sweaters, jingle bell earrings, and silly Santa toques—a sight we have not seen at other markets. The neighborhood was into this event—as much as we were. It felt like community.

The details

The day began with a free breakfast put on by BACA. If you’ve never heard of this organization, click here and read more about them. Basically, they are Bikers Against Child Abuse. They attend to the needs of children who need to feel supported—angels on motorcycles. I can finally say this without crying.

Santa and Mrs. Claus swung by as well as the Grinch. There were photo ops in front of a Christmas tree. Oranges were given out. There was a hay ride around noon and free smores. The church was involved as well as the catholic and public schools. Grade 8 students helped with whatever needed doing. There were also teens from high schools manning the door.

In the afternoon as everyone hit the expected slump another teen volunteer pushed a trolly around the market offering warm or cool beverages to the vendors and patrons. This has also never happened before. Again another added detail that made the day wonderful.

Overall

From beginning to end this market had the following that I deemed important: a helpful staff, a reasonable cost for table, a clean and well-lit space, clean and convenient washrooms, ample space to maneuver among the sellers and shoppers, a sense of community, wifi, a variety of vendors (from handmade to mass-produced), Christmas music, atmosphere, Santa, a community, bikers making breakfast, and the ever-present organizer, Tracy, who attended to our needs.

Counios and Gane discussed our experience and agreed that we would happily return to this market.

As Christmas comes nearer we wish you good luck in tying up loose ends and gifts. And remember the gift of reading is a great idea.

As always, thank you for reading lovelies.