The St. Paul Rec. Centre will be bustling with Christmas activity on Dec. 5, as a variety of events take place during this year’s Super Saturday.
St. Paul & District Chamber of Commerce executive director Linda Sallstrom says the Super Saturday event fits into the chamber’s mandate.
“It’s about promoting local shopping, promoting local businesses, and promoting our community,” she said.
This is the third year the event has happened, coordinating a day of local shopping deals and events to bring people into St. Paul to shop, she said, explaining, “The more things that we have going on, the more people will make a point of coming into town.”
The movie theatre is offering the Polar Express movie for kids at 11 a.m., with admission by donation to the food bank, while stores are offering deals for people wanting to get their Christmas shopping done with a few extra stops. Participating businesses offering special Super Saturday deals include Lakeland Family Eyecare, Refresh Derma Spa, The Jungle, Value Drug Mart, Happy House, Lakeland Family Eyecare, Yvonne’s Gone Quilting, PersonalEyesOptical, Evergreen Stationers and Performance Motorsports. For full details on deals, see this week’s St. Paul Journal.
The chamber decided to time the event to coincide with the same day the downtown mall offers its annual photos with the Grinch, while Extra Foods will be offering pictures with Santa, and the Visual Arts Centre will be hosting its annual arts and crafts sale that day as well.
Craft sale
For over 20 years, the St. Paul Visual Arts Centre has been hosting its annual Christmas Arts and Crafts Sale, and 2015 will be no exception. The event is slated to take place on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
“It’s a St. Paul tradition,” says Renée Fontaine, a volunteer with the Visual Arts Centre.
The day will feature tables lined with handmade items, such as beaded jewelry, Christmas lanterns, leather accessories, Christmas décor and crafts, knitted items, barn wood items, and much more.
“We always get new people coming in every year,” says Fontaine. Over 50 vendors have signed up for the always-popular event.
She says she believes there are lots of people who want to find Christmas gifts that are meaningful and purposeful, and the craft show is a great venue to find something that has a person touch.
“It makes it extra special,” that items are handmade, says Fontaine.
There is no fee to enter the event, but food bank donations are being collected. A concession will also be open and serving a hot lunch.
Other events
A home-based business expo is also scheduled to take place alongside the craft show on Saturday, as well as photos with Santa and the Grinch.
The photo opportunity is an event organized annually as a fundraiser for the St. Paul Animal Shelter, and this year, participants can bring an item for the Santa’s Elves project and a copy of the photo taken will be emailed free of charge.
Photos with Santa and/or the Grinch take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. upstairs at the curling rink on Saturday, and cost $5 per sitting.
The home-based business expo also takes place throughout the day from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
“This is the fourth year I hold the market. It continues to grow with vendors,” says Lori-Anne Peters. “I try and have a really good variety there for folks to come and get their shopping started, or in some cases done.”
There will be over 20 businesses represented at the event.
Sallstrom said she looks forward to a great day of events, adding, “It’s not just a day to shop but to celebrate St. Paul, the season, the festivities.”
