Some Christmas decorations at the Prince Albert Christmas Market. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

By Ian Gustafson

'Tis The Season

Christmas Market draws large crowd

Nov 9, 2019 | 2:19 PM

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

The Plaza 88 Events Centre is holding the Prince Albert Christmas Market, their largest trade show of the year.

The two-day event has a variety of different vendors selling unique items such as handmade work, clothing, baking, health items, and of course Christmas decorations.

The market was busy on Saturday indicating Prince Albert folks are already getting into the seasonal spirit.

Garry Nakrayko from Saskatoon was selling some homemade Christmas themed woodwork. Recently retired, he told paNOW he made everything himself out of old barn wood and rough lumber.

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“That seems to be the thing that’s really in right now,” Nakrayko said.

He was selling wooden frames, snowmen and other variations of festive season pieces.

After he retired he said he needed something to keep him busy and enjoyed working with wood.

“As an old goaltender I guess too many pucks to the head,” he laughed. “It’s funny, you can go in there at six in the morning and all of a sudden it’s six in the evening and the day just flies by.”

Nakrayko figured the opening day was a big success.

“Every show is typical: in the mornings they come and they make their rounds and then after they’ve seen everything they come back and they start buying,” he said.

The Prince Albert Christmas Market drew in a large crowd to the Plaza 88 Events Centre on Saturday. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

Trautie Stoop was another vendor selling some of her paintings and a children’s book she wrote called “Casey’s North Pole Adventure.”

She wrote the story in 1984 but it was published a year ago Stoop told paNOW.

She wrote the story for her son who was six-years-old at the time. She was inspired to write it after her daughter asked if Santa Claus was real. She told her child he was not the one who rides around in his sleigh but it was rather the spirit of Christmas and giving.

“My daughter didn’t take it very well, she cried a lot and my son was sitting back there blinking back tears,” she said. “I decided I should write a story and take him on a North Pole adventure and the story doesn’t actually answer the question. He’s not sure whether it was a dream or if it was real, so it leaves it kind of open.”

The Christmas market continues through Saturday until 4 p.m., and also runs Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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ian.gustafson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @ianGustafson12