Mount Lorne harvest market reaches full capacity in first event with no public health restrictions

The Lorne Mountain Community Association hosted an end of the season harvest market on Saturday at the local community centre on Annie Lake Rd.

The event, which had no public health restrictions, is the first of this magnitude for the association since the pandemic began, featuring local vendors, entertainers and 100 per cent locally sourced foods.

Jennifer Dunn has been a vendor at the market since its inception five years ago. She said it's wonderful to see people coming out and feeling free to be around each other. 

"It's kind of like coming back home again, where you can have people getting together freely, not feeling like they're confined. So that's been really nice," she said.

Besides vendors, community members, such as Holly Lutkehaus and her son, Decklan, also appreciated the social aspect of the event.

"This is where all those casual conversations happen, where you end up accidentally sharing resources. Those kinds of conversations don't happen when you're isolated out on your own property so it's really great to be out here and stay connected," said Lutkehaus.

The market ran from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. and it attracted hundreds of Yukoners from the Mt. Lorne community and surrounding areas.

"It's so nice sharing the centre with the greater community and having more kids come out," said Lutkehaus, who also volunteered at the market. 

Nick Turnbull, the association's executive director, said the event exceeded his expectations and even the parking lot reached full capacity.

"This is our big final hurrah for lack of a better word. So, we went all out," he said. "It's something that the community has really been missing for the past two years."

Debut at the market

For some, this was their first time selling their craft in a public setting.

Cynthia Malenfant is a French immersion kindergarten teacher in Whitehorse.

"I love crafting, but this summer I said 'okay let's do something for myself' so I started to craft for myself. I realize I didn't make only a few pairs, I made 70 pairs," she said.

On Saturday, she was at the market selling handcrafted, colourful, polymer clay earrings.

"I was so stressed before I got here," she said. "You do things that you like for yourself but you never know what people will think. But now, I feel overwhelmed with joy."

Taylor Champeval and her daughter Zoey, 5, also debuted their craft business at the harvest market. Together, they make big dream catchers, bracelets and other decorative crafts.

"It's something we do at home generally after school," said Champeval. "It's stuff to make us feel good and hopefully make someone feel happy about it, too."

The family-oriented event is an annual tradition to celebrate the end of the summer season. This year, it featured a bouncy castle, sumo suit activities, bumper balls, and live performances from Steve Slade and Claire Ness from the Yukon Circus Society.