Good news for those who frequent the Elks Farmers' Market in Okotoks.

It was originally slated to come to an end on Saturday, September 12th, but they've recently decided to extend the market until at least Thanksgiving weekend.

Assistant Market Manager Christoff Lindenback says it's been a tumultuous year for everyone, but he's been thrilled at the feedback for this year's market.

"We're very excited to have it and very excited to be able to offer it. We've added some vendors and lost some vendors, but based on the fantastic feedback we've had from the community, we're very happy to be extending it."

He says we may also see some market days during the holiday season.

"We're in talks right now about extending and possibly having a couple weeks during the Christmas break. With the license we have from the Farmers' Market Association of Alberta, we are able to have a couple Christmas market days. For me, that would be great for our community."

They'll still be operating on Saturdays from 11am-3pm, will the same health measures in place.

Those include a separate entrance and exit with sanitizer available at both, a limited number of individuals in the building at one time, and a plan for mask availability if the mandatory mask bylaw is triggered in town.

Lindenback says the response from the community really has been outstanding.

"We've been blown away. Honestly, the response from our community to shop local and to support local farmers, local producers... We have a young woman who sells mast who's had a phenomenal three weeks selling masks with the bylaw in Calgary being the way it is and the potential for it here in Okotoks as well as kids needing masks for school. We're just blown away by the response from the community."

He says some vendors will likely be taking a break this week, with many working back-to-back at both the Okotoks Farmers' Market as well as Elks Hall, though things will definitely pick back up as Thanksgiving draws near.

For more information on the Okotoks Elks Farmers' Market, click here.

 

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