The St. Albert 50+ Club always has something for everyone whether it’s in its programs, services or classes.
Or its special events. Its annual bazaar this weekend is a prime example.
“We have our sewing club that works all year … to prepare goods for the bazaar,” offered Val Niblock, the executive director of the club. “We have our woodshop volunteers that work all year to produce doll furniture and bird houses and wood products that we sell. Closer to the bazaar, all of the volunteer bakers take over.”
For five hours on Saturday, the spacious club will become a marketplace of homemade goods including the aforementioned wood, sewing (and knitting), and baked goods. There will also be jewelry and other goods by local craftspeople and artisans. You can buy a rocking horse, a necklace, an apple pie and some homemade slippers all at one fell swoop.
This year’s showcase will feature art made by members and non-members, all of whom take classes at the club. The sale will feature 18 of these donated works and 100 per cent of the proceeds of which will go to the fundraising effort.
There will also be a good supply of the club’s red pepper jelly, which Niblock said would become a staple of the season, with sights set on keeping it available all year round.
Niblock praised the incredible volunteer cooks at the club, many of whom have their special recipes for different goods, one of which is red pepper jelly.
“We’re actually going to make that and brand that as one of our signature products. If it’s successful at the bazaar, we’ll also start offering the same product in our gift shop. It’s delicious! It really is!”
The annual event doesn’t only serve to promote the club’s amenities and members’ crafts. It’s also one of the club’s main fundraisers, usually bringing in about $2,000 to the coffers.
Niblock hopes to bring in $4,000 this time. There’s an automatic floor cleaner on the club’s Christmas wish list.
The club, despite its small frontispiece, has a considerable area of 1,020 square metres. That’s a lot of linoleum landscape for the building’s maintenance staff to maintain on a nightly basis.
“Right now, all of our floors are cleaned with a bucket and mop. It’s quite labour intensive. It’s 11,000 square feet … so it’s a big effort. I’ve done it myself a couple of times and gone, ‘Oh, wow! This is heavy, heavy work.’”
The Marketplace Bazaar and bake sale takes place on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free. A high tea, occurring at the same time, costs $5.
Anyone aged 50 and over may become a member. The annual fee is $55. Membership includes a discount on classes, access to the club’s amenities, classes and social programming, plus an I.D. card that can be produced at various St. Albert businesses for further discounts and benefits.
The St. Albert 50+ Club is located at 7 Taché Street. Call 780-459-0433 or visit www.stalbert50plus.com for more information.
