Skip to content

Thursday, Sunday summer markets to return to Sidney with new name

Popular attractions will remain at Mary Winspear Centre location
32153409_web1_210509-PNR-SidneyStreetMarket-SidneyStreetMarket_1
Laurie McDermid of Westcoast Impressions welcomes residents to the first market of the 2021 season at the Mary Winspear Centre. (Black Press Media file photo)

Two popular summer markets will be returning to Sidney.

Operating under a new name, the Westcoast Outdoor Markets will continue Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings at the Mary Winspear Centre beginning June 22 and running until Aug. 31.

Operated for two decades by Westcoast Impressions, the Thursday night market – and the later edition of a Sunday morning farmers’ market – have been popular attractions in Sidney.

“Our philosophy and mandate have always been to support and provide opportunities to local entrepreneurs, creators, artists and community organizations,” said Laurie McDermid, Westcoast Impressions owner, in a statement. “Working with the community’s cultural and events hub at the Mary Winspear Centre gives us great pride and satisfaction in the work we are doing and an assurance that we are supporting hard-working, independent creators in a meaningful way.”

Westcoast Impressions shifted markets to the Mary Winspear Centre parking area in 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned during the 2022 season after asking Sidney council to release it from obligations to operate on Beacon Avenue due to the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic.

The shift allowed Westcoast Impressions to operate in accordance with pandemic regulations. Organizers also noted it allowed vendors more setup time as the Beacon Avenue location was restricted by the road closure.

Earlier this year, the Town of Sidney issued a request for proposals, looking for an organizer to revive a Thursday market along Beacon Avenue. Historically, that market has run along a stretch closed to vehicles on Beacon Avenue between Fifth and First avenues from mid-May to the end of August.

Black Press Media has reached out to the Town of Sidney for more information on that process.

The Westcoast Outdoor Markets will run Thursdays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. More information, including weekly vendors, is available at westcoastoutdoormarkets.com.

ALSO READ: Council frees Sidney Street Market from obligations to operate on Beacon Avenue in 2022


 

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroom@peninsulanewsreview.com.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.