A new weekly artisan market is coming to the City of Red Deer.
The first-ever Crimson Star Artisan Market will be held at The Flex (4919 49 St.) on June 1 from 5-8:30 p.m. – the event will be held every Thursday at the same location until Oct. 12.
“We wanted to bring the community and local groups together for this amazing new opportunity,” said William Keful, who co-manages the new market alongside Ashton Carrington.
Keful and Carrington wanted to bring the community to the downtown after it was announced the weekly Red Deer Public Market, which began its 2023 season on Saturday, would be moving to Red Deer Polytechnic.
The goal is to have 10-15 vendors to start. There is enough space for at least 25 vendors in The Flex space.
“We’re focusing on the artisan side of things,” said Keful.
“We’ve had a lot of people reaching out on social media platforms. There have been some community organizations getting involved.”
Keful noted the Red Deer Downtown Business Association and the team behind The Flex have been crucial in getting this market off the ground.
Originally, the plan was to make the market an outdoor event on the Ross Street Patio. But the DBA connected the market managers about using The Flex as a venue. Ultimately, Keful and Carrington decided the indoor space would be better due to the event not being weather dependent – there will still be the option of having some outdoor vendors at this space as well.
Keful said it was important to make the market diverse to everyone – there are discounted rates for nonprofit organizations and community groups, youths, members of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as creators who are Indigenous, Black and persons of colour.
“We want this market to be one big, beautiful umbrella that everyone can come and gather under and around. We want to be able to make a lasting impression for years to come because this will hopefully be around for more than just one season.”
For more information, including rates for interested vendors, visit www.reddeernightmarket.com.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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