The days are getting darker and colder and soon it’ll be time for Santa Claus to make his rounds. But Santa isn’t the only one coming to town.
This Saturday, November 14 and 15, residents in the Greater Victoria area are invited to attend a safe and spirited craft crawl.
Local resident and entrepreneur Caitlynn Neal has organized a socially distanced craft fair that goes all the way from Sooke, through Victoria proper, and up to the Saanich Peninsula, allowing local vendors to set up in their driveways and studios to sell their merchandise.
“There’s going to be home décor, there’s going to be preservatives, candles, jewellery, soaps, knitwear… pretty much anything you can imagine,” explained Neal. With a grand total of over 150 vendors, there is sure to be something for everyone.
The craft crawl will be taking place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Here’s a list and a map of all the vendors available each day.
Neal said she was inspired to create this event by visiting other craft crawls in B.C., like the one in Campbell River. She had wanted to organize a similar event in the past, but says it has been difficult due to the larger population of Victoria.
Being a vendor herself, Neal knows how hard it has been to sell merchandise with a lack of markets being run due to COVID-19 restrictions, so she wanted to find a solution for everyone. Neal has also run other markets and craft fairs, such as the Langford Legion night market.
“With me not being able to run those [other markets] and help out myself and other vendor friends, I wanted to find some solution,” said Neal.
To organize the event she contacted the vendors she knew through the 200 or more markets she has run and participated in, and asked if they wanted to be a part of the craft crawl. Adding a social media presence added to the event snowballing in popularity.
According to Neal, this may end up being the last craft crawl of the year due to colder temperatures. She says there may be another one in December for Christmas, and she plans to organize a few in the New Year.
Neal wants to remind everyone to mask up and be sure to maintain physical distances while shopping. She also recommends printing off a vendor list and bookmarking locations on maps so you can have a visual of all the vendors you want to visit.
Be safe and come prepared to shop!
To keep up to date with all the latest craft crawl news, keep an eye out on their website and their Instagram yyjcraftcrawl.
YYJ Craft Crawl
- When: November 14 – 15, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Where: Here’s a list and a map of all the vendors available each day.
