The Town of Okotoks thrives on charities and businesses supporting the public and vice versa. Throughout the year, there are countless festivals and events to celebrate and further facilitate community unification. But this summer - for the first time ever - Okotokians can experience the newest addition to the MarketSquare excitement, The Okotoks Night Festivals. The festivals is on July 12, August 2, and August 30 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Each will feature an artisan market, food vendors and trucks, activities, and live music to create an atmosphere that screams summer. Attendance is free. Megan Wozniak, Night Festival co-ordinator, was approached to take over the MarketSquare after opening an artisan collective store called Created. “Me and my mom and my sister for years have gone to all the big markets. We’ve loved to support local makers instead of going to the Wal-marts or the Costcos for the stuff that we can get here,” she said. “We wanted [Created] to be a hub between markets.” Created features handmade, one-of-a-kind goods. Ironically, Wozniak does not make anything sold in her store. “I am so jealous of the talent that everybody has - I have so much appreciation because I have zero of that talent,” she said. “And because of that, it just makes me want to give [makers] an avenue to grow their business alongside with us.” Inspired by her desire to promote small businesses, Wozniak came up with the idea to add Night Festivals to the MarketSquare scene. “We wanted to bring more life into Olde Towne…something fun to get people out and give people something to do,” she said. “I think the vendors and the live music will help to bring them around.” Wozniak said it is difficult to estimate how many will attend, especially due to the unpredictability of the weather. However, she is optimistic about the growth of the event. “I’m learning that with each one of these market events we’ve put on, the nerves and the emotions run really high because there’s just so much riding on it,” said Wozniak. “We want people to know that there’s a great thing happening…it’s about getting the word out.” Attendees can expect to see vendors offering everything from artisan jewelry to furniture. Additionally, each festival will feature unique vendors and musicians. The musical lineup for July 12 is Tyler Muir, Jess n’ James, Laurence Ball and Larry Vannatta. Vendors are still able to apply and will be allowed to participate depending on the category of their service and the space and date they are requesting. Vendors are only charged for their space if they are selling a product. “We’re pretty easy to work with, so we’re always looking for people out and say, ‘hey, this is what I do and this is what I was thinking.’ We’re always looking for a way to work with what they want,” said Wozniak. Okotokians Cindy Hogg and Ian Shurville will be selling goods and raising awareness at all three markets representing their business, Magenta Home Reclaimed Furniture. Hogg and Shruville create furniture and home decor from reclaimed wood collected from the Okotoks area, a passion that they discovered after losing their jobs in the oil and gas industry. “My husband has always been kind of creative, and he just started puttering in the garage and it built from there. I sew pillows as well,” said Hogg. Some of their creations are sold in Created, so Hogg said the market scene was a natural progression from there. In addition to selling their pieces, Hogg and Shurville hope to raise awareness for their business to attract more custom orders. Hogg said the appreciation for handmade, locally made good seems to be more prevalent than it used to be. “I find a lot of the time when you buy something that’s brought in the workmanship just isn’t there. The price might be cheaper but it’s not going to last you as long either, so it’s a trade-off,” she said. Jodi Prevost, owner of JLP Designs and gemstone jewelry maker, is an artisan from Calgary that was eager to get into the Okotoks market scene for the same reason. “I find that customers who frequent the Okotoks markets are really supportive of the handmade process,” said Prevost. “I think it’s important to grow your community and support local businesses because it helps keep money in the direct vicinity…it makes everything a little more stable.” For more information about the Okotoks Night Festival go to themarketsquare.ca.
