Mothers’ Day market and fundraiser to be hosted in Strathmore

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The grounds of the Strathmore and District Agricultural Society will soon be host to a Mothers’ Day vendor market and fundraiser, gathering donations for several food banks.

Kim Cottrell, organizer of the market, explained this type of event is nothing new to her, however this time around she wanted to put a heavy emphasis on the attached fundraising aspect.

“It is something that my family is very dedicated to and we try our best to help people. We have been in a position of needing help in the past, and so that is the primary focus for me,” she said. “I really wanted to do good and right now a lot of people are feeling (food pressures), especially these organizations.”

Set to take place May 9, this market and fundraiser will be the first of its kind in this format to take over the Ag Society grounds. The venue being chosen specifically to host a greater number of vendors than Cottrell is generally accustomed to.

For the majority of the event, venue space was donated as a contribution to their cause. As of April 22, approximately 50 vendors and several food trucks had been registered to participate.

“We have a few service providers, we have someone coming to do mini massages, and we have someone coming to do mini tarot readings, and they will be donating a portion of the readings and the massages to the fundraiser,” said Cottrell. “One of the things that I do at my market is I try to keep the table costs as low as possible for the vendors, and I also ask them for an item donation to go towards the fundraising.”

Donations raised through this Mothers’ Day Market will be split between the Wheatland County Food Bank in Strathmore, as well as the food banks in Beiseker and Acme. 

For every canned or dry good raised, a raffle ticket will be handed out for prizes during the event.

“I approached the food banks before I started organizing to make sure this was something that we could do for them … I got lists of what they need most and what they use on a regular basis – toiletries, essentials, that kind of thing,” said Cottrell. “As big as we can get, I’m going for it. It’s not about profit making for me – it is really about just getting the word out there, getting as many people as we can to come and to support and to give.”

Moving forward, she has already initiated the planning process for another similar event to take place during the summer, though no date or venue has yet been announced. 

The Mothers’ Day Market and Fundraiser will operate from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Ag grounds. Information regarding suggested items often needed at food banks is available online.