Community members living in the Santiam Canyon won’t have to travel far to experience the delights and treasures found at a summer market.
The Cascade Foothills Saturday Faire opened in July with three more events planned. The faire is at a grassy strip alongside Highway 22 in Gates. The upcoming faires are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, Sept. 5 and Oct. 3 – or the first Saturday of the month.
The festive summer market features craftsmen, artisans, farmers and independent business dealers from around the North Santiam Canyon and beyond to provide a venue for them to sell their creative wares and produce.
The Cascade Foothills Saturday Faire initiative is the brainchild of three local women – Karen Widmer, Phyllis Scott and Samantha Phillips, who formed a committee to organize the event with guidance from GROW North Santiam enterprise facilitator Allison Ford McKenzie and the support of the North Santiam Canyon Economic Development Corporation.
“Congratulations to Karen Widmer, Samantha Phillips, Phyllis Scott and the entire Cascade Foothills Saturday Faire committee who have been working tirelessly to bring Canyon artists, artisans, growers, sponsors and other businesses together to launch this new enterprise,” McKenzie said. “GROW is proud to have helped facilitate a project that provides a showcase for so many of our Canyon businesses, and is pleased that we could help this energetic group take this important step.”
The Cascade Foothills Saturday Faire promotes the livability and beauty of the Cascade foothills by showcasing the local talent in a festive monthly summer Saturday gathering.
GROW North Santiam is an organic, bottom-up, people-centric economic development process offering free, confidential business coaching to any entrepreneur in the North Santiam Canyon area, from Aumsville to Idanha, who wants to open, expand or improve a business. It is a community-driven project based on the Enterprise Facilitation™ model created by the Sirolli Institute and designed specifically for rural business development.
Sweet-Pickles.com, Fresh to You Produce & Garden Center, Willow Station, Mill City Pharmacy, Frontier Country Restaurant, Word’s Out PR and Uffelman Insurance have helped make the Cascade Foothills Saturday Faire a reality.
For information, call 503-897-7272 or visit www.cascadefoothillsfaire.org. For information on GROW, call Allison McKenzie at 503-871-5188 .
