Changes
this season…
For the past six years I’ve done the same
circuit of Christmas shows… it was time for a change. I decided to eliminate two Christmas shows
and as luck would have it I was able to add two completely different shows…
Last Sunday I did the Best Western Artisan
Christmas Show…there were two things I noticed
immediately, the show is in one room only, so rather small and there were a
number of vendors, at least three that come to mind who were not local. The “not local” thing isn’t really a big deal
to me as I’ve done three huge shows, for the last six years, with vendors from
all over Ontario, but I’d always been under the impression the Best Western
Show was local artisans…I learned something new.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with the day
being a Sunday…these are usually the slow days at multiple day shows…as it
turned out; while not super busy, the show wasn’t as slow as Sundays have a
tendency to be. I had a good day and
would give it another try next season if accepted.
My second new show of the season is the “City Streets Christmas
Artisan House Tour”…which is one of North Bay’s much loved artisan tours. It is a greatly anticipated, and immensely
successful, house tour celebrating its 14th season this year…
Be sure to set aside Saturday, November 24th,
from 9:30am to 4:00pm, as you won’t want to miss
this once a year magical shopping experience!
The tour began 14 years ago, when Dianne
Lafrance and Susan James felt the need for a juried venue which showcased local up and coming quality artisans. That
year there was a total of four artisans at Dianne’s home. The idea of the tour was to some extent
modeled after the well known Country Roads Tour…but… a house tour with in the
city of North Bay. While it has always
been a co-operative Dianne Lafrance is the driving force behind the event.
This season there will be eight open
houses, each one, showcasing the collections of some of the finest, most unique
gift giving items available in our area…interspersed among these homes, you
will find 34 first class, juried,
local artisans, designers, gourmet cooks, and
artists…we even have an author.
Take a look at the website for up to date
information regarding the tour www.citystreetstour.com. You
will find a list of the homes, along with detailed information regarding each
person in the individual homes. You will
also find printable, easy to read, maps for each house.
The addresses are as follows:
871 Bourke St., 10 Beverly Rd., 5
Mapleview Place, 1016 MCleod St., 635 Scollard St., 317 Percy St., 36 Little
Down Lane, 443 Bell St.
For
further information, contact:
Dianne
Lafrance at 495-0488 or Susan James at 474-7026
Maybe I’ll
see you at 10 Beverly Road...as always leave a comment on my blog or send me
an email, hjcote11@gmail.com, for questions or comments.
Have a great week…
Cheers
