If you're looking to get your holiday shopping out of the way before December lands in four weeks, then this Saturday is probably the best time to get it done.
That's when the Christmas Gift and Craft Show comes to the St. Albert Inn. You'll be able to peruse through the wares of dozens of different vendors. If you choose to make a stop at the show, there's a group of people who would love it if you thought about getting them a present at the same time.
The show will also serve to help boost donations to the St. Albert Kinettes' Christmas Hampers, a program that reaches out to about 200 families in the city who struggle to put food on the table. If Christmas is indeed the most wonderful time of the year then the Kinettes certainly do more than most to add their own gifts of time and basic human concern to touch so many others out there.
To learn more about the Kinettes and their hamper program, please visit www.stalbertkinettes.ca.
Tomatoes show sends benefits to Cambodia
The people of Cambodia are still trying to rebuild their country after the strife from the era of the Khmer Rouge about three decades ago. Now, there's hope… as in the Hope Center near the community of Poipet.
The last time this event was held, it raised enough money to drill 15 water wells and a community pond, plus provide teacher sponsorship and purchase a solar power system for a care centre for families affected by HIV and AIDS. Not bad for less than $12,000.
Organizer Pierre Lefebvre said that because of the ability to stretch that money as far as possible, the possibilities are practically endless for what can be achieved from this event. One of the main goals will be to help several women to be self-sustainable by teaching them to sew toques that will be sold in New Zealand and hopefully Alberta too. Depending on how much money comes in, there is so much more that can be accomplished.
"Instead of being out scrounging they will be able to sit there and knit toques. Hopefully by the following year, they'll be able to support themselves from doing this," he began. "To make them be able to support themselves, it's the gift that keeps on giving."
The event takes place Saturday, Nov. 13 starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Kinsmen Banquet Centre located at 47 Riel Drive. Apart from the entertainment by Marcel Belley's old time rock band, The Tomatoes, there will also be great food from D'Arcy's Meat Market, a silent auction and a slide show to educate about where the money will be going. Tickets are $25 each and can be obtained by calling Lefebvre at 780-975-4895 or stopping in at D'Arcy's in the Campbell Business Park.
