Sunday, September 30
Visit the Market this Sunday for all the best in local produce, baked goods, prepared foods, artisan crafts, and more! This Sunday is Member Appreciation Day! Market Members can shop the market for great Member-Only specials from our vendors. Not a member? Find out more, and sign up HERE!
This Sunday’s Member-Only Specials:
Bali Bites: 15% off
Central Park Farm: 50% off chicken backs and 25% off wings
Einai Designs: 10% off
Ela Made Me Do It!: Fresh soups/broths – same price as frozen
Fume-eh Gourmet Foods: $1 off your purchase
Gesundheit Bakery: $1 off a purchase of $5 or more
Golden Ears Cheesecrafters: Buy 3 products and get 10% off
KICS Gourmet: $1 off 375 ml bottle of syrup
Nina’s Pierogi: $1.00 of any pack of pierogies regular or gluten free
Rockweld Farm: 20% off whole birds
Sweet Thea: $1 off any loaf of hearth bread (9 Grain, Flax & Sunflower Whole Wheat, Green Olive Sourdough, Pain de Campagne)
Trinity’s Tea: 50% off cups of hot tea
Celebrate the best of the season at our Annual Harvest Festival! Visit the market to enjoy a meal for purchase prepared by the students of the culinary program at Centennial Secondary School. Menu will include turkey chowder, borscht, and cheese biscuits! $5 for soup and a biscuit (Members price – $4). Also enjoy apple variety tasting and a seasonal squash display.
Kids! Stop by our Kids Craft table to decorate a mini pumpkin to take home! Also, enjoy some fun games!
We’re happy to have musician Pernell Reichert joining us for the first time this Sunday! Get a sneak peek of his music HERE.
POP Club – Week 17
On The Wild Side With: Divine East
1. How did your trips to India inspire you to create your own malas and now silver and gemstone pieces? How did this passion move towards creating a business?
Divine East was founded after a sisters’ trip to India in 2015. Surrounded by gemstones and mala beads, we studied with a Guru in the foothills of the Himalayas the healing properties of gemstones, meditation with mala beads and the power of mantras and intention-setting. Upon our return home, we found friends and family had an increasing interest and curiosity in the malas we were wearing and meditating with. Sharing our passion for mala beads and meditation, we saw an opportunity to impact on a larger scale. Recognizing the potential we had to inspire others, we knew starting Divine East was along our Dharmic path.
2. How have you developed your relationships with locals in India? How do you source and ensure the quality of your materials?
We met the man we currently source our materials from after strolling into his shop in Rishikesh; he was recommended to us from a friend we met there. We instantly had a connection with him, beyond a business relationship, and knew we had just developed a life-long friendship. He spent hours with us going through the healing energy of each piece, and was patient with us while we chose our first malas. We stayed in touch with him after leaving India, and once the idea of creating Divine East began to churn, we trusted the quality of his gemstones and materials. He sources his gemstones from a gemstone factory in Jaipur; we were lucky enough to return to India in 2016 and 2017, and actually visit the factory where the raw gemstones are hand cut, polished and faceted. It was an incredible experience and really authenticated the high quality gemstones we use, as well as the ethical production of them.
3. What inspires your collections? Does life at home inspire you or just your time in India?
Inspiration comes from so many facets of our lives, often when we aren’t searching for it. Many design ideas and concepts have come to us in meditations and visualizations. Others have been born out of what intention we are seeking more of in our personal lives; it could be abundance, grounding, positivity, protection, the list goes on. We also love hearing feedback from our community about what they are wanting more of in their life.
4. What are the most important qualities in your pieces? What do you want customers to feel or know when they are wearing your pieces?
Each mala necklace has 108 beads with 1 guru bead. Malas allow the user or wearer to keep count of their mantra recitation, repeating a mantra 108 times. There are many sacred meanings for the number 108; it is said that in order to manifest an intention, it must be said at least 100 times repeatedly (the extra 8 leave room for error). Each gemstone has a different metaphysical healing property; if you are drawn to a certain gemstone, it often holds an intention you are subconsciously asking yourself to work on, pay more attention to or bring into your life. The color of a gemstone is also associated with the chakras, one of the 7 energy centers in the body. Black or red gemstones are associated with the root chakra; this is your first chakra, your foundation, safety and security. Explore more about gemstones and chakras here.
5. Can you describe your relationship with your Divine Ambassadors? Why are these relationships important or valuable?
This year, we really wanted to focus on the power of community. There are so many amazing wellness leaders in Vancouver and California that impact their communities in a positive way. The intention behind Divine Ambassadors was to connect with those who have directly inspired the two of us, to share our story and how they have influenced our journey. These leaders are influencers in their own community, they inspire those around them and connect with them authentically and whole-heartedly. They have a passion for sharing their learnings and the curiosity and desire to always be a student. We have done many collaborations with our Divine Ambassadors to share one another’s stories, elevator our brands and make a positive impact in our communities. We have done collaborative events, made custom pieces for their retreats or yoga teacher trainings and continuously shared their stories with our community. When we uplift one another, we all shine.
6. Where are you hoping to take Divine East in the near future? What relationships are you wanting to build on or create? How do you want to evolve your collections?
Thats a great question, and one we are continuously asking ourselves. Divine East absolutely deserves more time that we currently give it, as we both have full-time careers that we love. Divine East is a passion project and our greatest desire is to inspire and educate others to recognize the power of their mind, of setting intentions, of meditation and of silence. We will always be community facing, thats one of the things that lights us up the most. Connecting with someone at an event or farmers market, sharing one another’s stories (often over laughs or tears) is the purest and most authentic form of connection, and having someone leave the interaction with a piece that will support them in being better in some way is the most rewarding gift.
7. What are some things your customers may not know about you both or company?
We continue to travel to both India and Bali each year to maintain the relationships we have built with our suppliers. Two years ago, we went back to India for one of their weddings. Friendships flourished into business relationships, but authentic connection is at the heart of that and as such, at the heart of Divine East. While we are a Vancouver-based company, one of the sisters (Danelle) has lived in the USA for the past 10 years, so she is also connecting with our community down South!
Sunday, September 23
Join us at the Market this Sunday for all the best in local produce, baked goods, artisan crafts, and more!
We’ve got a lot of great food truck options this Sunday! Choose your breakfast or lunch from Hunger Management or Mike’s Perfect Perogys food trucks. Don’t forget your coffee from Biscotti Joe!
Kids! Visit us at the Kids Craft Table to make an adorable paper owl! Choose a wing design, and paint it using a very special painting tool. (Hint…it’s a vegetable!)
The BC Association of Farmers Markets is presenting an Asian Greens Cooking Demonstration this Sunday at 10:30am. Enjoy samples, a market tour, and recipes to take home (Mandarin and Cantonese translators provided!). Local and seasonally inspired recipes will be prepared by chef and farmer, Roger Woo of The Farmhouse Bard. Come taste some of Roger’s Mid-Autumn Harvest inspired recipes!
We’re happy to have musician Jack Noble joining us this weekend! This young guitarist is a talent that you don’t want to miss!
Getting To Know: Earth Paws
“It is our aim to ALWAYS put your pets first. If we offer the best products in the market, it is our belief that profit will follow suit.”
Earth Paws owner Kevin Lee says after years working in the pet industry working with clients and attending various trade shows he realized there is a need for premium products that are healthy for pets.
I make products with 100% natural human grade ingredients that I feed my own pets. It is my passion and goal to ensure there are healthy options for dogs and cats all across Canada. We also put in a lot of time and research into every product we bring to market. For instance, there are at least 8 other companies in BC alone that sell Dried Sardine for dogs and cats. Our big difference is that we’re the only ones in North America, that goes through a sodium extraction process because regular dried sardines contain more sodium than the recommended daily intake for many dogs and cats.
Earth Paws strives to ensure every dog and cat owner has access to the healthiest products that will hopefully improve the overall well being of their pets but are also delicious. Kevin says high quality products for pets is just as important for them as it is for us.
High quality products contain less toxins and heavy metals while containing more beneficial vitamins and minerals. Dogs and cats can survive on low quality diets but at the end of the day, they are not thriving. We want to ensure that your pets stay by your side as long as possible and as healthy as possible.
All of Earth Paws products are made along side companies that make products for humans. Kevin says by doing this, they are forced to uphold their manufacturing procedures to human standards.
Right now, there is a huge lack of regulations in the industry which is why so many companies looking to make a quick buck jumps in offering cheap products made with low quality ingredients. Our future goal is to move into the dog/cat food business as the food our pets eat directly relates to their quality of life.
A portion of Earth Paws’ proceeds are donated to Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind. Kevin says when starting his business, he always knew he wanted to support those in need.
Upon doing research, I found that lots of pet products businesses donated directly to the SPCA or other shelters. Although I absolutely support these organizations, I wanted our donations to help people first. When I came across Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind, I knew it was the perfect fit as we could help pay for some of the training guide dogs would need to help their human companions with visual impairments.
Looking to the future, Kevin says Earth Paws will remain privately owned so that they can continue to provide the best pet products without needing to worry about investors or shareholders.
We expect to be in every major city in Canada by the end of 2019 when we will start working on our raw diets for dogs and cats.
Learn more about some of Earths Paws products:
Dried Sardine Treats for dogs and cats: Sardines are an excellent source of proteins and omega 3 and 6 fatty acids which help with brain function, heart, skin and coat health. This is why so many people feed their pets dried sardines on a daily basis. However, many dried sardines contain so much sodium that it can cause sodium poisoning and even kidney failure in our pets. This is why we go through a sodium extraction process to remove sodium levels down to 0.1% so pet owners don’t need to worry about these issues.
Sweet Potato Dental Chew: Our Sweet Potato Dental Chews are made of 100% white sweet potatoes which have lower sugars and higher dietary fiber than orange ones. Unlike any of the sweet potato treats on the market, ours feels hard as rock but is actually softer than our dog’s teeth. The removes the risk of fracturing teeth when they chew and because sweet potatoes are full of dietary fiber, it is also highly digestible.
Sunday, September 16
Join us at the Market this Sunday for all the best in local produce, baked goods, artisan crafts, and more!
We’ve got a lot of great food truck options this Sunday! Choose your breakfast or lunch from Brazilian Roots or Ace Curries to Go food trucks. Don’t forget your coffee from Biscotti Joe!
Kids! Visit us at the Kids Craft Table to make a cute paper plate apple core!
This week our POP Kids will be learning about what types of fruits and vegetables grow locally. POP Kids can challenge themselves to see if they can spot the produce that is not grown in BC. They will be tasting pears in the Two Bite Club. Don’t forget – Kids ages 5-12 can sign up for POP at any time. It’s not too late to get involved this season!
We’re happy to have musician Jana Seale joining us this weekend! Get a sneak peek of her music HERE!
POP Club – Week 15
On The Wild Side With: Fume-eh Gourmet Foods
While on a trip to San Fransisco for the Fancy Food Show, Fume-eh Gourmet Foods owners Paula and Chris Beall fell in love with smoked olives but couldn’t find any to sell in their much beloved Port Moody store, Eden West.
After searching high and low for them so we could sell them at Eden West we gave up and bought a smoker so that we could make our own. We spent months perfecting the technique, type of smoke, brine etc and finally came up with a winning combination. We have since developed our Smoked Olive Tapenade which is outselling everything else.
Fume-eh Gourmet Foods smoked olives have brought fine dining right to the feet of customers and Paula says continuing to frequent markets is important to them as a growing company.
Developing a new brand takes a long time and staying in touch with your customers is a very important part of that. We love seeing people try our products for the first time and getting their feedback.
Paula says their olives are smoked at a low temperature with milder wood smoke to avoid bitterness in the olives. Their variety of flavours lead to a wide range of dish options.
The buttery nature of the Castelvetrano olives along with the sharpness from the smoke bring a different depth of flavour to so many different dishes. Why not add some to a Puttanesca? Or throw the tapenade on some Arctic Cod, yum! The possibilities are endless.
The name Fume-eh has more of a story than meets the eye. After a night of enjoying some wine and endless smoked olives, Paula says her and Chris creatively stumbled on the name “Fume-eh.”
Well ‘fume’ is smoke in French and ‘eh’ is of course very Canadian as our we so voila!
Inspired by all things food, Paula and Chris have plans to grow their product line over the winter season.
As for deciding what flavours we just try and try again until we are thoroughly thrilled by the end product.
After recently hiring a brand ambassador Paula says, she and Chris hope to continue to create high quality products and continue to get the word out about their company. Be sure to visit the market to keep up to date with their new products!
Sunday, September 9
Join us at the Market this Sunday for all the best in local produce, baked goods, artisan crafts, and more!
We’ve got a lot of great food truck options this Sunday! Choose your breakfast or lunch from Hunger Management, Mike’s Perfect Perogys, and Kara’s Crepes. Don’t forget your coffee from Biscotti Joe!
We have a special treat this week! Local chef, Fred Soofi, will be at market to create a delicious 3-course lunch made with fresh market ingredients! It’s not too late to grab your tickets – find more info HERE!
Kids! Celebrate the season changing by creating a fall color tree at the Kids Craft Table this Sunday!
We’re happy to have musician Ranj Singh joining us this weekend! Get a sneak peek of his music HERE!