Arjun Pillai
Daily Herald
Broken lamps, wobbly chairs, and small appliances will once again get a second chance this Saturday as the Repair Café returns to the Prince Albert Science Centre.
Running from 1-4 p.m., the free event brings volunteers and community members together to fix household items and learn some repair skills in the process.
The Repair Café movement began in Amsterdam in 2009 and has since expanded to thousands of communities around the world, and Prince Albert is blessed with its own. The local edition has grown slowly and steadily, driven by community support and word-of-mouth.
This month’s event builds on a growing grassroots initiative hosted monthly at the Science Centre. As organizer Les Dickson explained, it’s not just about getting things fixed; it’s about empowering people to repair their own items.
“What we try to do when we do the repairs is teach some skills,” he said. “It’s not just about getting something repaired, but maybe learning how to do some repairs yourself.”
Last month’s event featured a special drywall repair demo by a representative from Co-op. In previous months, Repair Café has also hosted workshops on soldering and how to use a multimeter, and Dickson says those DIY sessions will likely return.
While turnout varies, interest has slowly grown since the Repair Café first started in Prince Albert. “Initially, there was hardly anybody that knew about it,” Dickson said. “But it’s getting more and more people now. We’ve had several people come back on multiple occasions with different items.”
One past collaboration saw Repair Café team up with Big Brothers Big Sisters to repair unclaimed bikes donated by the police. Volunteers helped tune them up so the bikes could be gifted to children in need.
Dickson says the event doesn’t aim to compete with local businesses, especially for complex services like IT support; instead, it focuses on helping people fix items they might otherwise throw away, especially when professional repairs would be too costly.
Despite hopes to grow, the event already has strong support.
“We’ve got very good volunteers,” Dickson said, adding that the space at the Science Centre is ideal, and tool donations in past years have kept them well-equipped.
For now, his goal is simple: “Just to see it continue to grow and become more popular.”
Attendees are encouraged to bring one or two household items in need of repair. No registration is needed, and repairs are free, though donations are welcome. Parts, if required, are purchased by the participant.
So if you’ve got something broken and worth saving, head down to 1403 Central Avenue this Saturday. The volunteers at the Prince Albert Science Centre will be ready with tools, guidance, and will provide knowledge on how to bring it back to life.
