What’s Happening?
Royal City Gogos are hosting their 10th annual Artisan Crafts for Africa Sale. This year’s event is taking place in Tipperary Park on Saturday, July 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tell me more:
This year’s sale will feature the high-quality signature items that shoppers have come to appreciate through the years, including tote bags, neck pouches and snappy bags, dryer balls, garden fairies, microwave cozies, and silk and merino felted scarves. It also features a wide variety of new items, including silk and suede totes, jewelry, art originals and art cards, cat pillows and painted, beaded, appliquéd and embroidered denim jackets.
Visitors, including folks wanting to shop for themselves or hoping to buy some specialty items for Christmas, will be able to shop in 10 “departments” at the sale.
“Fashion lovers will enjoy the beaded, embroidered, embellished jean jackets and the quilted suede and silk totes, felted silk scarves and chunky statement jewelry,” said a press release about the event. “Over 300 Christmas decorations dazzle in the Christmas in July department. Cat lovers will adore the array of door stops and cat cushions. Come early to get the one and only denim ‘splat cat’ – she is sure to make you smile! Fairies glide on twig swings above the potted succulents in the garden department. There are brightly coloured African baskets and wall hangings, tasty preserves, and toys for kids made of upcycled sweaters. This sale will be a highlight of your summer.”
Anything else?
Attendees can enter their name in a door prize draw, where two lucky winners will win a large basket of treasures from each “department” at the sale. Shoppers can also place bids in a sealed bid auction on four handcrafted and hand-painted character figures. If they’re hungry after all that shopping, they can stop by the Lucha Libre Mexican street food truck.
What’s it for?
All proceeds from the sale go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign, which supports community-based projects in 15 countries in Africa. The money assists African grandmothers who have undertaken the nurturing, safety and education of some of 17 million children orphaned by AIDS.
Reid founded the Royal City Gogos in New Westminster in 2009 to allow local women, including grandmothers (gogos), to support the campaign.
“We have raised $620,000, she said in an email to the Record. “This amount of money will have changed lives for the better for African grandmothers and the children in their care.”
Through the years, the group has hosted a variety of events to raise money for the campaign. The Artisan Crafts for Africa sale has grown from humble beginnings to a event that attracts shoppers from near and far.
“Years ago, the Rotary Club of New Westminster gave Royal City Gogos $750 to purchase craft materials. We have grown every year since to a three-day event in 2019 that attracted 1,000 people and raised $60,000,” Reid said. “We have had to take a small step back with COVID in the past two years to hold outdoor, one-day events, but we have enjoyed tremendous community support. We have a loyal following, including people who fly in from Alberta to attend or come over from the Islands just for our sale. People report our sale is a highlight of their year – great vibe, beautiful products and wonderful value, all for a good cause.”
For more information about Grandmothers to Grandmothers, go to www.grandmotherscampaign.org. To get a sneak peak at some of the items that will be for sale at the Artisan Crafts for Africa sale go to www.royalcitygogos.org/craft-sale-preview.html.
Follow Theresa McManus on Twitter @TheresaMcManus
Email tmcmanus@newwestrecord.ca
