Though Christmas is almost two months away yet, organizers in Botha helped members of the village and surrounding communities get into the Christmas spirit with its Christmas fair and lunch on Saturday, Nov. 1.
Organizer Christine Wedrick said the fair was rather successful, especially given the fact that it had been pulled together with only two weeks’ notice.
“Everyone came together,” she said, crediting members with the community for helping set up the hall, prepare the food, and ensure everyone who came left with a full belly.
Santa was also in the building, along with a professional photographer, allowing families a chance to get those special Christmas season portraits well before cards went out to family members. It’s one of the reasons why Wedrick said she planned the fair so early in the season.
Vendors came from Botha and the surrounding communities, ensuring a wide variety of goodies up for grabs. Leggings, homemade glass-and-wire creations, alpaca wool blankets, socks, and skeins of wool, and Castor’s fabulous cupcakes were all up for grabs alongside homemade scrubs and soaps and the usual brand names like Scentsy.
Stettler’s Christmas Market started at the Stettler Agriculture pavilion a few days later on Nov. 4. Tables at that fair sold out almost immediately, leaving several vendors out in the cold.
On November 15, the Big Valley Christmas Craft Show and Sale get underway, and 10 days later the Festival of Lights kick off at Stettler’s Community Hall.