For nearly half a century, the Evergreen Artisan Market has marked the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season in Prince Albert. This year’s edition, coordinated by potter and arts advocate Vicki Gauthier, featured almost 60 booths, its largest turnout yet.
“We’ve worked really hard to attract high-quality artists,” Gauthier said. “There’s glasswork, fibre art, pottery, woodwork, jewellery, and the setting inside the Rawlinson Centre and Mann Gallery really elevates it. It’s a cozy, high-end market that puts people in the mood for Christmas.”
Gauthier, who has helped organize the event for eight years, said proceeds from admission and vendor fees support the Prince Albert Council for the Arts. The funds go toward youth art programs, student scholarships, and local exhibits throughout the year. “It’s a way to give back,” she said. “The volunteers make it happen, and the atmosphere is something special. Vendors tell me it’s their favourite show.”
Among this year’s artists was Don Pell, believed to be Saskatchewan’s only glassblower. Working from his furnace that reaches 2,260 degrees Fahrenheit, Pell combines metal and glass in vivid, colourful pieces.
Glassblower and blacksmith Don Pell displays his colourful handmade glass pieces at the Evergreen Artisan Market.
“I use a lot more colour than most glassblowers,” he said. “The tools haven’t changed in 2,000 years, but each artist brings their own way. For me. It’s about showing that handmade things still matter, that not everything has to be made in China.”
Pell said the Prince Albert crowd is always curious and welcoming. “People find a piece that speaks to them,” he said. “Most buy it for themselves because it means something personal.”
For Svenja Belaoussoff, a painter and mixed-media artist whose studio Struck by the North is based near Prince Albert National Park, the market marked her public debut.
Mixed-media painter Svenja Belaoussoff of Struck by the North Studio showcases her nature-inspired artwork during the Evergreen Artisan Market.
“I paint the North, the light, the wind, and the way everything changes from moment to moment,” she said. “My art connects people to nature, to memories of places they’ve been or places they want to go.”
Belaoussoff said the market gave her a chance to connect with the community and officially launch her studio. “This is my first show, my inaugural event,” she said. “I want people to see the beauty of where we live and feel that connection to the land.”
With shoppers moving between booths of pottery, jewellery, and woodcrafts, Evergreen remains both a celebration of artistry and a reminder that creativity still thrives close to home.
Vendors display a wide selection of handmade pieces during this year’s Evergreen Artisan Market in Prince Albert.
