November is too early to think about Christmas shopping. But if you want to get it over with then why not shop local and support your neighbourhood artisans and businesses rather than some faceless corporation selling you rubbish from overseas.
The tenth annual Christmas at Casa continues today, Saturday, Nov. 19 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on both floors of Casa.
“ it’s unreal that this is our tenth year,” noted the allied Arts Council Communications manager Kelaine Devine.
“ It’s been steady, said Devine, watching the last flood of early Christmas shoppers close off the first night on Friday.
“ It feels like a family. You see a group of people here you only see once a year, and after it’s show and tell because everyone is so excited to show you what they bought,” she enthused, adding they are at full capacity again.
pre-Covid Christmas at Casa attracted over 4,000 people coming though the doors of the two day event.
“ We have 100 artists this year,” she continued, noting there is beadwork, leatherwork, pottery, painters and woodturners. Local guilds including the Textiles Surface Guild, the Lethbridge Handicraft Guild of Weavers, the Lethbridge Society of Glass Artisans and Lethbridge Artists club are also participating.
In addition to handicrafts, local musicians are performing throughout the event including Karen Romanchuk at noon today, classical guitarist Carson Froelich, Dale Ketcheson , Lethbridge Classical Guitar Society, Brad Hagen, Alice Tindoori, Parya Rostamian , Austin Culler, Assumpta Smallwood and Daniel Beeson- Bergeron.
In addition to handicrafts, there are also a couple booths offering Christmas treats like candies, macaroons and caramel popcorn.
“ I love the popcorn” she enthused.
The Allied Arts Council is also supporting other Christmas handicrafts fairs and local business, so are providing a Merry Markets and Merchants Map featuring the SAAG Holiday Market and the Indigenous Market at Fort Whoop-up, SAAG Holiday Market plus 12 participating merchants in the downtown core. If you visit five of the locations and receive stamps you can be entered to win a gift basket stuffed with handmade items and gift cards.
“ It was valued at $3,000 last year,” Devine said.
There are several tables set up selling art for charitable causes including the RAW program supporting people in transitional housing. And they are accepting donations for the Lethbridge Food Bank.
“There’s good art for good causes,” she said.
Admission to Christmas at Casa is free. It continues 10
a.m.- 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19.
— By Richard Amery, L.A. beat Editor
