Olde English Faire may wait a year

Although Peace Arch Kiwanis will probably delay its Olde Englishe market until next summer, Kiwanis vice president Ruth Green said efforts to muster support are still ongoing.

“We’re not putting it off for a year,” she said. “We’re still working an an ongoing process.” Green said many factors contributed to the delay, such as lack of funding, lack of volunteers and a delay in drafting a vendor contract. “It will for sure happen one year,” she said.

Green said the idea stemmed from a need for Kiwanis to raise money. “Even as a service organization, money has to come from somewhere,” Green said. “We needed to find a way to make money, and that’s how we came up with the marketplace. The reason we chose a medieval marketplace is that gives us an edge; you have to have a reason to come here.”

“We think it’s a great idea,” Blaine chamber president Pam Christianson said. “But the chamber doesn’t have any money to support it; whatever advertising we do, we’ll throw it in as one of Blaine’s summer activities.” She added although the chamber itself doesn’t have money, she would solicit support from members when she finds out the marketplace is a sure thing.

“Cooperation is vital for this to work,” Green said at a meeting last week. “We all live and work in the same area; we’re sort of used to splitting our resources, but we need to pool them.”

Green said 50 vendors have shown interest and she’s tried to contact the Society for Creative Anachronisms, a group that dresses in period costumes and reenacts swordfights, jousts and other medieval sports. “Piece by piece, it’s coming together,” she said.

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