Third Kids Market at Drumbo Fair featuring all kinds of artisan products made by kids

The third annual Kids Market returns to the Drumbo Fair on Sept. 21. Vendors part of the market include Braeden’s Butterflies, Yarn + Hook, K-Man’s Reading Buddies, and Lou’s Keyphabits. (Photos submitted by Ellise Mackie).

Emily Stewart, Echo Correspondent

For the third year in a row at the Drumbo Fair, you can pick up crochet crafts, watercolour paint bookmarks, and other artisan products all made by kids.

The Kids Market will return to the 175th Drumbo Fair from Sept. 21 between 1 and 3 p.m. The market will feature a variety of creative works such as ceramic butterflies, beaded jewellery, Reisen letter keychains, and slime. The Kids Market is still hoping more vendors come on board from Oxford County and surrounding areas.

"There's lots of stuff for people to see, and these kids, they often dabble in little things, so you'll see some paintings,” said organizer Ellise Mackie. “You might see some sketches that they've made. You might see some clay figurines. You might see some crochet stuff, Reisen letters. It's a little bit of everything, but it's all kid-created."

The Kids Market at the Drumbo Fair began after the Rising Star competition for young performers was cancelled at the Western Fair and eventually the smaller fairs. The fair committee was impressed with the young talent and brought it back.

Mackie said that whether the young entrepreneur is raising money to cover their own medical costs or to channel their feelings through art, the business opportunity has made a difference in the youth.

"There's other kids who started a business and then the business you've seen over the years morph into something else, and as their interests change, so does their product and as they get bigger their products get more refined and you have some who are really nervous or are neurodiverse and they've got their own things coming on, and they come to something like this and they just shine,” she said. “It's an opportunity for the kids to just really showcase what makes them special and talk about why their product is special and how it represents them."

Drumbo’s Pizza Pizza will be bringing a free lunch to all the young entrepreneurs. Tables are free, but the children will still need to pay $12 to enter the fair. Mackie suggests bringing cash for all the vendors in the market, even if some of the kid-trepreneurs take cards. All products are under $20.

"Although it's appropriate for kids and adults, a lot of the customers who go in are kids. They get really excited about the slime, or to get a little crocheted creature to get the keychain to put on their backpack or something like that, or a bookmark to put in their book,” Mackie said. “It really is for everyone, but it's very much a celebration about the kids and what they can do and encouraging them to do the work."

For more information or to register, send an email to drumbokidsmarket@gmail.com.