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Christmas Market welcomes local entrepreneurs to the Lions Hall in Alliston

December 2, 2021   ·   0 Comments

On the evening of Friday November 26, the Alliston Lions Hall on Boyne Street was transformed into a Christmas Market.

The event, hosted by local resident Anna Bandiera, took place from 7–9 p.m. in support of local vendors who run home-based businesses.

“Whether their business is a multi-level marketing business, or their own personal business, we all want to support local businesses,” Bandiera told The Times. 

Admission for guests was free and vendors paid a small fee to reserve a table in order to showcase their products. 

“Their fee helped cover the cost of the room rental at the Lions Hall,” said Bandiera. “Any additional vendor fees received went to cover the cost of event advertising and door prizes. Guests who attended received one free ballot, to enter their name in a draw to win a prize. If the guest brought in a non-perishable item for the Lions Christmas Hamper food drive, they received additional ballots.”

Vendors in attendance were: Anna Bandiera with Thirty-One Gifts, IG @toteallylovethat; Jessica Crossan with Epicure, IG @jessfabfood; Shari Goss with Norwex, IG @sharilgoss; Jaylynn Dalrymple-Alford with Scentsy jaylynnsscents.scentsy.ca; Geraldine Jaye Ivany with Scentastic Scents with Jaye, WB www.jayeivany.com; Amber Ellerby with Zyia Active Wear, FB @Amber’s Zyia Obsession; Michelle Allyson Maharajh with Vilma’s Sauces, FB @Vilma’s Sauces; Crystal Walker with Comfy Leggings 4 All; Silvia Watt from Beyond Reiki, IG @beyondreiki_; Rafida Jaro with Baked by Rafida, IG @bakedby.rafida; Sandy Gooding, FB @Sandy’sTupperwareSales; Angelica and Nelson Symmes with A.nd.N.Creations, IG @a.nd.n.creations; Mary Lou Lavecchia with Pampered Chef, IG @cookingwithmarylou_pchef; and Sandra Paulo with Some Bunny Made This, IG @somebunnymadethis.

This was the first year a Christmas Market was hosted by Bandiera in Alliston and she said her goal was to keep the vendor list small.

“To be honest, I didn’t know how the first event would be received,” said Bandiera. “But based on the positive feedback I’ve received I hope to plan another Market in the future.”

The following day, Bandiera also hosted a Mom-to-Mom event, where local families could buy, sell and exchange gently used children’s items that were no longer needed.

“Kids outgrow things so quickly and it’s nice to see items going to other children,” explained Bandiera, who also told The Times that Mom-to-Mom sales are more common in her previous community.

As for when these events will take place again, Bandiera says to mark your calendars for the third Friday in November. Interested vendors and guests can watch The Times for updates in the fall of 2022.

By Wendy Gabrek

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