September 9th was the final valley market day for the Wakamow Farmer's Market, ending off the third year for the Wakamow Valley park fundraiser, which invites vendors of all kinds and has seen a rotating cast of approximately 75 stalls, food trucks, and stands since beginning in 2021.
"I feel our market was very good this year. It's starting to plateau over the last couple of years, so you can see, I think on average we've had about 25 to 30 vendors every week," said Donna MacQuarrie-Bye, general manager of the Wakamow Valley Authority. "Our attendance has been around 700 people each weekend, our biggest was 1,000. I consider that a fairly good, successful year.
"The weather has been wonderful. At least, every weekend I've worked, it's been great weather. ... I think there was only one weekend where it was really windy and ugly, and that was a couple weekends ago, so, it's been pretty good!"
"So, these are Super Dips. Over 45 flavours of veggie dips, fruit dips, meat rubs, and seasonings, and popcorn seasonings, too," said Amanda Grimard. "The majority of them are salt-free, sugar-free, MSG-free, and gluten-free, so it's really nice to have these healthy options for people.
"I know the owner, so I'm helping her distribute into Saskatchewan here, and I'm the only one at the moment. ... I think this market is a great opportunity for those who have items to sell that may not be made in Saskatchewan. I couldn't do this at the Langdon market, so the Wakamow market is very inclusive and allows other people the chance to sell. There's new vendors every week, and it's nice to be out in the valley in this great location."
Jeannette Madarash was selling her beadwork and paintings at the market. September 9 was only her third market day ever in Moose Jaw.
"I do a lot of painting and I've done a lot of beadwork, just for fun, and I just decided to sell some of my art," Madarash said. "I have lots of flowerpots, lots of jars, vases, that I enjoy painting. I actually started beadwork as a way to relieve anxiety, because it requires focus, and then I've always painted, and I've been doing more since I've had the time for it.
"I haven't had a lot of success here at the Wakamow Farmer's Market, compared to the others I've been to, but there are a lot of great people here."
Kayla LeDuc and Chad McNabb had a table set up selling their wirework crafts, which they began making and selling in May. They had a large variety of hand-crafted bracelets, necklaces, anklets, and more using tarnish-resistant copper wire, aluminum, or stainless steel.
"We also have earrings, pendants, vinyl stickets, and these stones which I polished myself," LeDuc said. "It's going really well. The market is fantastic, it's a really great environment down here and we really enjoy attending."
"Well, we always seem to end up spending more than we make," laughed Jessica Watson and Gayle McNichol, the mother-daughter team behind With Intent Bodypiercing, which has a permanent storefront location on High St. W. "It's nice to be able to get fresh food here and everything, veggies and what-not, and the other vendors are great."
Along with body piercing and body jewellery supplies, With Intent sells fair trade clothing sourced from Nepal and India, hand-poured Made-in-Canada candles, hand-rolled incense, and "lots of other fun stuff."
"This stall has a much quieter pace than at our store, which is nice, and we enjoy getting outside and reaching a different section of people than usual," Watson added.
The Wakamow market is now closed for the season. The Homegrown Farmer's Market on Langdon Crescent in front of the Moose Jaw Public Library runs until Thanksgiving weekend.
