Unique gifts for sale at Indigenous Arts and Craft Fair in Penticton

PENTICTON – A 10-year-old Christmas tradition continues on the Penticton Indian Reserve this weekend.

The Indigenous Arts & Craft Fair takes place at the En’owkin Centre from 10 a.m until 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5.

Those looking for unique Christmas gift ideas could find what they are looking for a short drive west of the Okanagan River Channel.

Artisans from all seven bands of the Okanagan Nation have been getting together at the centre for the past decade to network with one another and generate some extra Christmas income for the artisans and their families, En’owkin Public Relations spokesperson Tracey Kim Bonneau says.

“It’s a great social event for everyone. Carvers, jewellers, fashion designers come from Kamloops, the Okanagan and the Similkameen offer their work for sale to the public,” she says. "It’s a great opportunity for the general public to pick up a unique Christmas gift for a member of their family.”

Kim Bonneau says the work is stunning.

“People who come through are just blown away at the value of the work and the affordability,” she says, calling the event a local community day. “It’s not just an aboriginal event, it’s an event that crosses community lines.  A lot of people pass through our doors, and a lot of people know the reserve through this event.” 

This year approximately 35 vendors will be on hand to sell their wares. A pancake breakfast fundraiser will also take place between 8 and 11 a.m.

Admission to the fair is free.

The En’owkin Centre is located approximately a quarter-mile west of the Super Save gas station on Green Mountain Road. For more information, call 250-493-7181, or email enowkin@vip.net

To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.