Let me start by saying that I get it – this picture looks like a medium bustling conference centre in the year of our lord 2021 where we can gather if we are double-vaccinated and wearing masks. (And look at how I snuck the COVID mitigation tactics that are in place right in there at the beginning – so smooth these days!) But once you take just a few more steps further, you’ll see that you are in a quirky, festive world of local artisans – you’re at Market Collective!

If you didn’t get it before, these festive bathrooms will leave no doubt that you are at a kitschy, quirky, holiday market. Calgary regularly hosts a ton of holiday markets. You could probably hit up a different one every weekend between the beginning of November and Christmas, if you planned carefully. Some of these are higher end, premium artisan markets, like Art Market at the Telus Convention Centre. Others are held in community centres and feature all the amazing home artists that you didn’t know were in your community.

Market Collective strikes a perfect balance between the two ends of the spectrum. Sure, there were several big name breweries on site and a few artists were definitely at Art Market as well. But for every artisan I recognized, there was one that was completely new to me. I can’t show any of my purchases because many are gifts, but let me just say… I bought quite a few awesome things and I did not break the bank. And it was so exciting to support people in my community.

I feel like it is shockingly hard to describe the vibe at Market Collective. There are hipsters, grandmas, young couples with babies, skateboarders… (In fact, there is a full-on, though little, skateboarding park right next to a kombucha stand.) It just feels like a welcoming, open-hearted place for everyone. You can buy vintage clothing, beard oil, yummy treats, and jewelry to fit any style you want.

This picture is… questionable (in terms of quality). But it gives you a bit of the vibe – you can see Ol’ Beautiful growlers on the left (yes, they were selling beer as well!), clothing in the foreground, and shoppers gathered around some cute jewelry in the background.

The best part? You still have an opportunity to hit up Market Collective next weekend (Dec 17-19)! I bet you still have some holiday shopping to do and supply chain lines are sketchy… shop local! It’s only $6 for the weekend and I bet you’ll love it.

No summary question here… just a rant

I’m only a very tiny blogger so I haven’t dealt with this much. Oh my god, its hard to take good pictures in public! I didn’t want to obviously get anyone’s face in the pictures. I didn’t want to linger at any stand for too long, because I wanted to let people see the wares. Ugh. I will get better but… not today, my friends. Not today.