Women’s Day Was For Everyone!
Stephanie Kelley
The doors opened for the fair at 10 am. By the time I got there about an hour after that, the joint was jumpin’! It was hard to pick a place to start. I made a quick circuit to check out the lay of the land. Doreen Sappier had just finished presenting a Reiki Workshop, and a Meditation Workshop was about to begin in a private room.
Out on the main floor there was a sea of humanity and the buzz of hundreds of voices throughout the arena as people visited booths and chatted. Immediately as I entered the main floor, my eyes were drawn to a colourful display of dog collars and leashes at the Mama Mia Pet Collars booth, and as I circled back I made it my first stop of the day.
Annette van Cingel and her son Marnick were running the booth and they filled me in on the history of the dog collar business. Mama Mia! Boutique in Florenceville-Bristol is located in the little mall across from the public library on McCain Street. Annette opened the boutique several years ago as a consignment shop for clothing and accessories. In fact, we did a story about the boutique in 2012. Click hereto read the article.
And voila! A new business was born. But wait, the story gets even better…the word spread about Annette’s hand- made collars and leashes and she now sells them at 15 different retail outlets throughout the Maritimes.
Annette and her family also rescued 2 more dogs. Mia is a French Bulldog, and Hampton came from the Fredericton SPCA, which had ended up with over 200 puppies from a puppy mill operation that was shut down.
Because of Snooki, Annette had become a facebook friend of a woman named Beth Stern, a fellow English Bulldog owner. A couple of years ago, Beth mourned the loss of her beloved pooch Bianca, at the same time that news came out that Howard and Beth Stern had lost their bulldog Bianca…and Annette then learned that Beth was indeed Howard Stern’s wife. Small world, eh? Because of Annette’s contact with Beth, and Beth’s contacts with various celebrities, Annette and Marnick have been invited to show their products this year at Posh Pets Celebrity Events in both New York and Hollywood!
Annette and Marnick had some dog treats for sale at their booth as well, made by Kaitlyns K-9 Dog Treats. Kaitlyn Urquhart lives in Woodstock, and has begun a natural dog treat company. She currently makes several dozen flavours of treats, and you can order treats soft or crunchy. You can contact Kaitlyn to order dog cookies on her facebook
page.
Next I dropped by to say howdy to Greg and Donna Wallace at Digger Fever. This couple from Tobique Narrows are metal detecting enthusiasts themselves, and they sell all the tools you need to hunt for buried treasure yourself. Thar’s gold in them thar hills….and silver, and old coins and jewelry, along with all the rest of the metal detritus that humans lose or leave behind.
There’s probably not any ancient Roman treasure hoards buried in New Brunswick, but there was a fascinating find closer to home last year out in B.C. Retiree Bruce Campbell started hunting for treasure with a metal detector because he was “sick of TV and getting fat”. Last December he turned Canadian History on its ear by uncovering an English Shilling from the mud on the shores of Vancouver Island that was minted in London some 435 years ago.
It is speculated that this coin was left during the expedition led by Sir Francis Drake sometime during 1579. Drake was documented to have reached California, but it is rumoured that he also travelled farther north. If so, it means he visited Canada 200 years before the Spanish fleets arrived in 1774.
Lewis Pharmacy had their booth set up just across from Digger Fever. Lachlan Moore was playing with some kind of sandy looking stuff that Ryan and Jessica had on display, and they invited me to feel it for myself.
I did a bit of online sleuthing to try to figure out just exactly what the ingredients are, but it’s evidently a proprietary secret. It does contain real sand and corn starch. According to the product info, it is anti-bacterial, non-toxic and it never dries out. In fact, it needs to be stored in a breathable container and it will last for a long time, unless it becomes contaminated with other ingredients.
My next stop was a visit to the Organo Gold booth, where Garry and Jordan Fournier were holding down the fort. This company produces a variety of products which contain the medicinal mushroom ganoderma, which is a species of reishi mushroom.
Proponents claim that ganoderma can relieve fatigue, help keep cholesterol in check, curb high blood pressure, soothe inflammation, help build stamina and support the immune system. Garry and Jordan both use the products themselves as well as sell it. Jordan says that his knees don’t hurt him anymore, and Garry reported that his acid reflux is gone. Jordan also told me that his grandmother, whose arthritis had affected her hands, can now knit again.
So what is “That Crazy Wrap Thing”? I stopped by the booth and met Ann and Jennifer. The “Thing” is a body contouring wrap that uses a botanically based formula to nourish your skin and reduce puffiness and cellulite. You wrap yourself up, leave it on for a while and drink lots of water. You can use it anywhere on your body you want to tighten and tone. You can contact Ann on facebook to learn more about the product.
After she’d presented a Reiki Workshop, Doreen Sappier headed back to her Majestic Moon booth. She had a selection of items on display from her store, including some nifty little bath bags. There was a Money Drawing Bag, a Relaxation Bag and a Love Attracting Bag. The bags contain Dead Sea Salts along with the appropriate herbs, a small candle and a piece of incense. To use these in your bath, you pour the salts and herbs into the water, light the candle and incense and relax in your bath, meditating upon what you wish to draw into your life.
Jonathan Gagnon and Stacey Kelley had plenty of visitors to their booth as they handed out free samples of the many varieties of wines that they brew at their Rotten Grapes U-Brew Wine Room. Their home and wine business was moved during the flood relocation program, but their wine making business never stopped! You can call them at 273-3620 or connect on facebook to get your own wine kit started.
Nicole Sherrard sells Pampered Chef kitchen and cooking tools. She had a great selection on display at the fair. Pampered Chef is now also carrying a line of nifty hand tools for gardeners. You can call Nicole to book a showing party at 426-0787.
Right next to Nicole’s booth I stopped to meet Susanne Hansen, who runs a picture framing business in Grafton called Perfectly Framed. Photos and art always look much nicer on the wall when they are professionally framed, and Susanne also had some examples on display for ways to frame and show memorabilia that would otherwise just be buried in a drawer or box.
In the photo Susanne is standing next to some keepsake items she has displayed in a shadow box. She had beautifully framed an old recipe her grandmother had hand written many years ago for ‘Bessie’s Oatmeal Cookies”, two silver spoons her grandmother used and a photo of the lady herself.
What a lovely way to capture a memory! She also frames antique jewelry. Most people have old memorabilia, buttons, medals and like stashed away in boxes. Why not frame it so that it may be seen and enjoyed by all?
Judy Lunn and Karen Garnett were on hand to represent the Western Valley Adult Learning Association. Karen teaches a GED preparation course, and by the time I visited the table 7 people had signed up for the WVALA Digital Literacy Course. Judy herself took the GED course from Karen, and went on to win the Goguen Champlain Literacy Award which Judy received during an all- expenses paid trip to Moncton! Judy says taking the GED course was the best thing she’s ever done.
Mabel’s Labels are personalized labels that are laundry safe and water-proof so you can put names on your kid’s stuff. If you order labels through the local website 20% of your purchase will go towards support of the P-A Jackrabbits Ski Club. Click here to place your order.
There were many more fantastic booths and displays at this event, each representing a local business or service. Help build strong rural economies and support your friends and neighbours by shopping local!
