There are no hard feelings, just sad ones.
The parking lot on the south side of the Mall at Piccadilly will no longer be the go-to spot for crafts and fresh produce on Tuesday and Friday mornings.
When they open for the season April 30, members of the Shuswap Farm and Craft Market will set up shop in the large parking area in front of Rainbow Glass, adjacent to Centenoka Park Mall.
“Piccadilly could no longer accommodate us with the new Save-On, the new Shoppers and whatever else is going on over there,” says Heather Middlestead, Farm and Craft Market secretary. “It was a bit of a gong show last year so we had to find somewhere else to go.”
Middlestead says Mall at Piccadilly management have been “very, very good” to the farm and craft organization and members are extremely grateful for the support they have received over the years.
As well, she says the organization will likely make appearances in the mall for various promotions.
“We’re sad to see them go,” says Linda Stepura, Piccadilly marketing director. “They outgrew us and we outgrew them, and we wish them all the best of luck in the future.”
In the meantime, Middlestead says Centenoka Park Mall officials were very receptive to providing space.
Owner of Love and Lace at Centenoka as well as a member of the Shuswap Farm and Craft Market, Midddlestead says the board did look at other location possibilities but nothing else could accommodate the large group.
“This is a thing we all understood had to happen,” she says, noting in 2009 there were 68 vendors in the organization. “We downsized last year, but we’re a non-profit organization and we can’t go in the hole.”
The new location will not only allow the organization to grow, it will let them grow “the heart of the market,” a program that encourages non-profit community groups to spend some time at the market, letting people know what it is that they do in the community. Past participants included the SPCA, Rotary and Sahuswap Hospice.
The Farm and Craft Market will open on the last Friday in April and will run from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
While the organization is open to new members, Middlestead says they have to scrutinize applicants carefully to make sure the market maintains its viability.
“We have to make sure the balanced mix is there so not everyone is carrying the same things,” she says. “We’re always excited to get something new, something nobody else has.”
Anyone interested in joining the twice-weekly market should go to www.shuswapfarmersmarket.com, where Middlestead says new applications are being added to the website.
“We had to make some changes and if they’re not up now, they will be soon,” she says. “Just print them off and mail them in.”