What: Bizarre Bazaar
When: Friday, Dec. 1 & Saturday, Dec. 2
Where: Telus Whistler Conference Centre
In Dehli, India you can the visit the Palika Bazaar. In
Peshawar, Pakistan, there is Qissa Khawani Bazaar (the market of story
tellers). And in Iran you can find the largest of them all — Tehran’s
Grand Bazaar.
In Whistler there’s Bizarre Bazaar. Unlike its famous
counterparts, Bizarre Bazaar, with its wide variety of wares to tempt any
shopper, comes just once every year. It’s here this weekend.
If you need a one-stop shop for all your holiday gifts, look no
further than the Telus Conference Centre on Friday and Saturday.
From hand-made jewelry and candles to one-of-a-kind fine art,
this is the place to find something for everyone. It is the annual event in
Whistler to kick off holiday shopping.
More than 100 artists from the Sea to Sky corridor, the Lower
Mainland and beyond will display their wares at Whistler’s original artisan
market.
A testament to the popularity of this annual event, which is in
its 18
th
year, is that 5,000 people wandered through the doors in
2005.
New this year is artist Mark Richards, who combines elements of
photography and painting in his unique artistic medium.
Richards, who grew up in Nova Scotia, creates some pieces on
canvas, while others are on traditional photographic material.
“I’m still struggling to find a name,” said Richards. See for
yourself what this artist can create.
Sharon Cipp, the official medicine woman of the D’Arcy N’quat’qua
and the Lil’Wat Nation, is returning to Bizarre Bazaar. Cipp is a fourth
generation eco-herbalist who practices the medicinal ways of the Interior
Salish people.
She sells herbal products, which come from her five-acre
homestead in Birken.
“It is more than just a craft, it’s education and health,” she
said. “If you have a skin problem, we look at what you eat, your activity and
then I say ‘This is what you use’.”
Another unique attraction is the work of local glassblower
Duane Perrett, who has been honing his craft for 25 years.
“I have explored many paths in life and in business, all of
which have led and contributed to this exciting, inspiring time in my life,” he
said. “Ironically it was my pastime of sandblasting wood and stone that led me
to the form of glass art.”
Whether it’s glass, art, wood, metal, clothing, food, pottery,
jewelry, aromatherapy products, Christmas treats and more, it’s hard to leave
the bazaar empty-handed.
And while it’s true people flock to Bizarre Bazaar to shop,
this is also the place where you can find some free entertainment — Rob
Funk, the Whistler Singers, Solterre’s Songs of Solstice and Susan Holden are
all playing this year. And the Whistler Waldorf Alta Lake School is hosting a
cozy café, complete with fresh food and hot and cold drinks.
Bizarre Bazaar takes place Friday, Dec. 1, from 3 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 2, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entrance is by donation with proceeds funding the Children’s Art Festival and other annual Whistler Arts Council events.
