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The Royal Bison and the Edmonton Christmas market at Fort Edmonton Park have worked hard to earn their reputations
Buno Design, owned by textiles and jewelery designer Esmahan Abdallah, will be returning to the Royal Bison’s holiday market. Photo by John Hohn /supplies
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As the world around us shrank during the pandemic, many folks embraced a local, community-centred, even DIY mentality. For Edmonton creatives and small business owners, this ethos has long been a way of life, and it’s at the core of two upcoming holiday markets.
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The Royal Bison Art and Craft Fair has been supporting local makers for 15 years, uplifting artists of all stripes at the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Center (8426 Gateway Blvd.)
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The vendor-run market was started by Edmonton-expat illustrator Raymond Biesinger and is beloved for being tightly curated — a jury reviews hundreds of applications each season — and just a little weird. The holiday market runs over two weekends, Nov. 25-27 and Dec. 2-4, with a third weekend given to a spring market.
“Shop local. Skip the mall,” says Vikki Wiercinski, one of seven organizers. “Come get something curious and different.”
Royal Bison has become familiar to loyal patrons through the years, as it’s reliably held in the same space and regularly features several of the same popular vendors. But it also changes every season by continuously introducing new local artists and designers. This iteration will see newcomers such as Sanguine Studio, self-described as “a one-woman show designing and creating rad stained glass,” and studio collective Kindred Pots, a group of ceramicists creating fun and funky pieces.
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Traditional arts are trending
These makers are part of a trend Wiercinski has seen emerge in the past few years as creatives are reimagining traditional mediums.
“Ceramics are really — pardon the pun — on fire right now,” says Wiercinski. “It’s a thing that your funky aunt did in the ’70s. Now a lot of these old or maybe dated craft mediums are having this crazy renaissance.”
She attributes some of the renewed interest to accessibility, with more studios in the city for mediums like stained glass or ceramics.
“These are things you can’t quite make at home yourself,” she says. “You need to learn from someone. You need to work on them in a studio space.
“These more intense crafts are coming back and being reinterpreted in this new, modern way.”
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Like so many events, Royal Bison was held online for the last couple of years. Without physical space constraints, organizers were able to feature about 100 vendors at each market, some from as far away as British Columbia. While that aspect of the online market was a benefit, organizers and patrons are happy to be back in person.
“The Royal Bison is so much about community, so much about being face-to-face, so much about meeting your neighbours, whether it’s your boothmate or bumping into somebody you know when you come as a customer,” says Wiercinski. “We operate on community connections. We’re back, focused on local and I think that’s what counts the most and what’s made the Bison what it is.”
Fort Edmonton Park lights up
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Also returning to full capacity is the Edmonton Christmas Market. It’s been a modest affair for the last few years, starting at ATB Place in 2019 before moving to Army & Navy the following year. After a five-day pilot in Fort Edmonton Park that saw about 13,000 people last holiday season, the market is returning to greatly expanded festivities.
Organized by Public Food Hub Co., the company responsible for the 124 Grand Market, among other ventures, the holiday market spans three weeks this year. And while last year’s event was contained to the midway space, this season will see the market will spread across 40 per cent of the park, and organizers hope to have 50,000 people through the gates.
“Fort Edmonton Park has always been a dream venue,” says co-founder Kirsta Franke.
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The site typically lies dormant during our icy winter months, but its era-specific buildings lend a nostalgic feel to an outdoor holiday event that includes much more than retail.
The airport hangar will boast more than 120 rotating vendors, all offering locally made goods, from jewelry by Prairie Poly and Smithstine Copper to liquor by Strathcona Spirits and Black Diamond Distillery.
Krampus, left, and Strathcona Spirits’ owner Adam Smith, will be back at the Edmonton Christmas Market this year. Photo by Larry Wong /Postmedia
Kids in the Hall’s Kevin McDonald (Dec. 1 and 3) is one of several performers that will bring The Capital Theater to life on Thursdays and Saturdays. Rapid Fire Theatre, Grindstone Theatre’s 11 O’Clock Number and local drag acts are also scheduled.
The midway will remain the main food and drink hub, though attendees can find offerings throughout. The blue and yellow tent will house Woodshed Burgers, Three Vikings and The Workshop Eatery, and the carousel will be in motion, adding a festival flair.
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Wander or ride a horse-drawn sleigh along 1920 Street dressed with “magical” light installations ready for Instagram moments. The Mahogany Bar speakeasy in Hotel Selkirk will be serving mulled wine, hot chocolate and other treats, while the Ukrainian Bookstore will be a hub for wreath, planter and candle workshops.
There are charitable opportunities on site for donations to the Christmas Bureau, Edmonton Food Bank and United Way. Organizers are aiming to fill the park train, which Franke fondly thinks of as the Polar Express, with new and lightly used outerwear.
Last year’s attendees ranged from young families to seniors, from groups of friends to couples. While it’s not easy to create an event that caters to so many different audiences, that’s the bold goal for the Edmonton Christmas Market.
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“It’s design your own adventure,” says Franke. “There’s going to be something for everyone to enjoy, a full experience. Not just the marketplace and supporting local businesses this great time of year, but so many fun things to do with friends, family or on a date night as well.”
The Royal Bison Art and Craft Fair
Where Old Strathcona Performing Arts Center, 8426 Gateway Blvd.
When Nov 25-27, Dec 2-4
Admission $4 at the door, kids are free
Edmonton Christmas Market
Where Fort Edmonton Park
When Nov 30 – Dec 18
tickets $15 for adults, $10 for kids 6-17 years old (5 and under are free) and $45 for families (2 adults, up to 4 kids). Fees are added, and timed entry must be booked. “Christmas cash” cards are used for food and drink onsite, and ordering online will save 10 per cent. Leftover Christmas cash can be donated to the Edmonton Food Bank at the end of your visit.
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