With only two markets left in 2018, the Cloverdale Arts and Entertainment Association is bringing out the local talent for August’s Market Days event.
This month’s market will take place on Saturday, Aug. 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. As is usual, the market will block of the majority of Cloverdale’s 176 Street for vendors, food trucks, activities and entertainment.
Coming for their only Market Days performance this year are the Cloverdale-famous Versatiles, a golden-age variety group. The group, led by director Susie Hall, will be performing Vaudeville-style entertainment with a modern twist, which organizer Paige Hardy said will be popular.
“They’re all local people,” she said. “They’re seniors and they’re wonderful.”
Also at this month’s Market Days will be singers Brian Flanagan, Jaideen Rawlings and Alexis Lynn, playing in Hawthorne Square. A tent by La Belle Vie, near the farmers’ circle, will feature classical, jazz and blues songs by musicians Mary and Stuart, as well as Indo-Canadian rock tunes by Ranj Singh.
The stage at 56A Avenue will not only feature the Versatiles, but also re-enactments of Surrey’s history by heritage performers and hip-hop dance performances by the Street Kings Academy of Dance.
In addition to the entertainment, this Market Days event will also put a focus on the kids.
July’s market saw Park City Baptist Church run a children’s carnival for the first time.
“It was nice because they’re a community-based church and a community group, and the whole idea behind the market days is we are community-minded,” Hardy said. “Last time, I think the pastor was there and the youth pastor. But I think the majority of them were kids, kids from the church community.
“They were really trying to get other kids off the street and come participate,” she continued. “It was good.”
The carnival, located in Hawthorne Square, was situated a bit back from the road during last month’s market — something that Hardy is planning to fix for this event.
“What we found is they were just a little too far back, they were being missed,” she said. “We’re really pushing them up towards the centre of the street so they are more involved.”
This is the market’s fifth year taking over the streets of downtown Cloverdale, and has been the most successful, Hardy said.
“We have a huge amount of vendors,” Hardy said. “We can actually go from roadblock to roadblock, which we visualized right from the get-go.”
This month will see more than 100 vendors bring their hand-crafted goods and fresh produce to the market.
The Aug. 18 market is the second-to-last of the season, and will be followed by the final market on Sept. 22. For more information, visit cloverdale-ae.ca.
grace.kennedy@cloverdalereporter.com
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