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LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
An annual event brought the sights and sounds of frenzied holiday shopping to Fort Simpson for a day.

Handmade jewelry and Christmas ornaments were among the items that Adeline Sanguez was offering for sale at her table at the John Tsetso Memorial Library's Christmas Bazaar in Fort Simpson on Nov. 10. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

With 15 minutes to go before the official 1 p.m. start of the John Tsetso Memorial Library's Christmas Bazaar on Nov. 10, crowds were already starting to fill Thomas Simpson School's gymnasium. When 1 p.m. struck, the aisle between the vendors' tables was filled with shoppers jockeying to view the goods on each table and to get into line to make purchases.

A wide array of goods were on sale, from the homemade to the commercially manufactured. Shoppers could pick up anything from baked goods to jewelry, traditional crafts to Christmas wreaths and chili to spring rolls.

Lia Fabre-Dimsdale, 12, was one of the youngest vendors on hand. A selection of handmade earrings, necklaces, pendants and bracelets were arranged on her table. Despite her young age, Fabre-Dimsdale is a seasoned pro of the Christmas bazaar.

Around the time she was in kindergarten or Grade 1, she made jewelry out of pipe-cleaners and beads. She displayed her creations on a portion of a table and sold them all.

This year, the young jewelry designer started making her wares approximately a month in advance.

"I usually put some colours together and see if it has an effect," she said.

Fabre-Dimsdale pointed to one of her pendants that included three different beads ranging from dark to light colours with a red one in the middle. The combination reminded her of fire. Fabre-Dimsdale enjoys making jewelry for the bazaar.

"It gets your mind thinking and you can express your feelings," she said.

Val Gendron's inspiration came when she saw a mold in a craft store that could be used to create chocolate mustaches. Gendron sold the resulting creations, complete with sticks so the purchasers could wear them, at her table to raise money for Movember.

"They did well," she said.

Almost all of her approximately 70 chocolate mustaches, available in three different styles, sold.

Nearby, Adeline Sanguez had an array of handmade necklaces and Christmas ornaments for sale. Sanguez has been making jewelry for approximately 25 years since being inspired by her aunts who all do different forms of crafts including beading and crocheting.

Sanguez said she is constantly making necklaces because if she gets an idea she has to create it right away before she forgets. Sometimes she also draws inspiration from pictures of jewelry.

This was Sanguez's third year selling her creations at the bazaar. Sanguez said she likes the interaction between all of the people at the bazaar.

"I love seeing what other people have to offer," she said.

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