There was shopping – and it was an extravaganza. Check. Check.
People who came through the doors of Lac La Biche’s Bold Center over the Nov. 22 weekend for the annual Festival of Trees event had great opportunities to indulge in some retail therapy during the Christmas Shopping Extravaganza.
The massive shopping event-which recently celebrated 13 lucky years in the community, took place inside of the Bold Center Cenovus Fieldhouse One alongside the Festival of Trees.
Bev Tkachuk, who organizes the Christmas Shopping Extravaganza with the Lac La Biche Agricultural Society, said this year’s event was a success with just over 140 vendors were in attendance. Merchants sold a variety of goods ranging from homemade foods and crafts to Christmas décor, bedding, jewelry and even alcohol products.
While most of the vendors who had tables set upside of the Bold Center came from the Lakeland area, according to Tkachuk, some came from as far away as High Prairie. During the three-day shopping festival, the home-grown salespeople had plenty of customers who stopped by to check out what they had on offer.
“We feel we had a great turnout for all three days, and are excited to start planning next year's sale,” she told Lakeland This Week. “This sale gives shoppers a one-stop place to purchase all their local products.”
For the first time ever, the Lac La Biche Farmers’ Market was also part of the three-day sale. The Farmers Market, which turned 50 last year, is held from March to October at the Lac La Biche Lakeland Agricom and, during the warmer months, at the outdoor pavilion on the grounds.
“This was our first time making this special sale an Alberta government-approved farmers’ market, and we will definitely do it again,” Tkachuk said.
Home business and crafters, Tkachuk continued, rely on events such as the Christmas Shopping Extravaganza and the markets to not only sell products, but also promote their enterprises.
“Christmas is the biggest sales of the year for most. It also allows them to promote and make their business visible to more locals,” she said.
Crowd numbers for this year’s festival and sale have not yet been made available, but organizers have estimated that more than 3,000 people a day came to the Bold Center over the weekend.
