ROCKIES RAFFLE Invermere Home Hardwares Lucy Miller helps out the Columbia Valley Rockies by selling tickets for the hockey teams classic car raffle on Saturday, June 21st at the first Invermere Farmers Market of the 2014 summer season. Tickets for the 66 Mustang will be on sale until the fall at the Radium, Invermere and Fairmont markets Photo by Erin Knutson
By Dan Walton
Pioneer Staff
The summer markets are starting up, and theyll be easy to find anywhere in the valley. In addition to the Invermere Farmers Market in downtown Invermere every Saturday, weekly markets are also set up at the Invermere Legion, Fairmont Hot Springs, Radium Hot Springs, and Edgewater; and theyll all be in full swing by mid-July.
The Invermere Farmers Market kicked off last week. It runs from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. each Saturday and attracts about 50 to 60 vendors each week. The organization has just launched a new website at www.invermerefarmersmarket.com . Coinciding with the Invermere Farmers Market is the Invermere Legions market every Saturday, right out front of the local headquarters, with vendors there offering goods on par with whats available at the famed farmers market.
Starting this today (July 27th), Market on Main and Music on Main will be back in Radium. And because of the long weekend, the music and market will be active on Saturday as well, as it will be for both the Civic Holiday and Labour Day Weekend in August. There are approximately 36 to 40 vendors each week in Radium, with new sellers arriving often. The Market on Main runs from 4 until 9 p.m., and the Music on Main goes from 7 to 9 p.m. To improve Music on Main with a better structure and perhaps bigger-name bands, a Toonies for Tunes donation box will be in place this year.
In Fairmont Hot Springs, a Farmers and Artisan Market is held weekly on Sundays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. beginning on July 13th. The markets run until August 17th, and will be visible to traffic travelling through Fairmont via Highway 93/95. Vendors with hand-made goods are favoured in Fairmont, and there are more than 30 vendors who participate. Any musicians looking for an audience can find one at the Fairmont market by booking themselves a gig through organizer Tracy Connery at 250-345-4002 or [email protected].
Also happening on Sundays are the open markets in Edgewater. Pancake breakfasts will be returning every week from 9 to 11 a.m., and the market runs from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. The market operates inside of the Edgewater Legion, which always has many baked goods, jams and jellies, veggies, and crafts for sale. This will be the first season in its 43-year history the market operates on Sundays instead of Saturdays to help spread out the shopping opportunities in the valley. The market begins on July 6th and runs until Labour Day weekend. For vendors interested in booking a table, phone Vi Wittman at 250-347-0044.
