Bashaw’s fourth annual Humbug Bazaar, the three-week long, one-stop-shopping experience for all things home-crafted, quilted and Christmas, will begin on Nov. 27.
The shop, located inside the Meeting Place Coffee Roasters at 4813 50 St., will be open every day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The last day will be Dec. 18.
This year, there are over 20 vendors, including a few new ones, and more may still join, said Moira Gates, one of the organizers.
“That will bring some different products into the store,” said Gates.
The products are all handcrafted from local artisans and include pottery, knitting, quilting, repurposed or refurbished crafts, water colour paintings and acrylic pours, and wood working such as growth charts and walking sticks.
Of course, there will also be plenty of Christmas decor.
They’re also able to offer some baked goods this year. As the Meeting Place isn’t currently offering in-person dining due to COVID-19 restrictions, the bazaar is expanding into the dining space, and will have use of the certified kitchen as well.
Shoppers will need to adhere to COVID-19 protocols, including wearing masks and using hand sanitizer at the door.
As it’s a retail business, customers won’t need a QR code proof of vaccination, the organizers will just be restricting the number of the people allowed into the store at one time, as per Alberta Health Services requirements.
The Humbug Bazaar was started by a group of three ladies, but has since expanded to a group of eight.
As the bazaar grew each year, it became necessary to have more people to run it, and the added people mean less shifts for each person.
As always, there will be a collection for the local food bank during the bazaar and a portion of the proceeds, after costs, will be donated to a local charity that is yet-to-be-determined.
The Meeting Place, a building with an interesting history all on its own, is an ideal space for the holiday store.
The church portion of the building was dedicated in 1913. An old school house behind the church is where the coffee house and bistro is located.
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