Sacred Heart Cathedral held their annual fall market to fundraise for ongoing maintenance of the church on Saturday Sep. 12.
The proceeds of the fundraiser will go towards the upkeep and maintenance of the building, but also to bring different people together to build community.
“The maintenance of the building is one thing, but it’s nice to build community too,” said Sacred Heart Cathedral community member Diane Miller. “It’s really a team building exercise, everybody is working together for this project.”
The Sacred Heart Cathedral was constructed in 1914, on the site of the first Catholic mission in Prince Albert. The romanesque-style red brick building continues to host mass for the community now, over 100 years later.
Miller said due to the age of the historic building that it can always use donations and funds towards the Sacred Heart Improvement Project that manages the upkeep of the church and general repairs.
Miller said that there were many volunteers that came together to collaborate for the event.
“We have the involvement of many volunteers that donate their time, talents and fruits of their labours for all the different booths,” Miller said.
The market consisted of a fresh produce and vegetable booth, a booth with plenty of home baked goods, a jewelry booth with necklaces and earrings, a kitchen that served coffee and lunch to visitors throughout the day, and a flea market.
Visitors could bring their own bags or use the supplied reusable grocery bags, and fill them up for two dollars, paying on their way out. There were toys, books, board games, kitchen appliances, knick knacks, decorations, and dishware.
The market also offered door prizes with many different gift baskets filled with canned goods, baked treats, toys, and hand-made cloth kitchenware.
“It was very busy right from the very start,” Miller said. “We had a big lineup of people waiting to come in, and of course no early birds allowed.”
A photo of visitors browsing books from the library at the flea market at the Sacred Heart Cathedral for their annual fall market, where proceeds go towards improvements and maintenance of the building on Saturday Sep. 12.
Miller said that when the doors opened, there was a big rush, and the numbers continued steadily throughout the day until closing time and that almost all the booths had sold out completely of their goods. Miller guessed that around 500 people had come to the market on Saturday.
Miller said that the community of the Sacred Heart is very inclusive, friendly, inviting, great to work with, and that many different groups came together to help out.
“We have different groups involved, and the students come over from St. Mary’s (high school) to help out,” Miller said. “We have also the women’s group, we have the men’s group, we have other single individuals that come just to help out. It’s always great to get to know each other and build community.”
