By all accounts, the annual Ponoka Stampede farmer’s market was as good as it has ever been, that according to several of the more than 85 vendors that took up tables at the Ponoka Culture and Recreation Centre during the first three days of the Ponoka Stampede.
One vendor featuring a number sports memorabilia and western themed items, Dwayne Bellerose from Stettler, has been part of the market for a few years and a regular at the weekly Ponoka Farmer’s Market. He explained that in spite of the tough economic times, this year’s Stampede market was really good.
“I’ve met lots of people, a lot of locals and a whole lot from the United States,” he said.
“(The U.S. people) told me that they love coming back up here year after year and the stuff they can find here. That’s I think what made the market good and I think the market just keeps getting better and better each year.”
Another vendor, Ponoka’s Larry Jonsson, stated he was pleased with what business he did during the market and that there were a lot of people that came by.
Jonsson, who sells a homemade and extremely popular Icelandic pudding, was just as busy selling as he was getting some congratulations on the final day of the market.
“I had people come over (Wednesday, June 29) to talk about how exciting it was to see Iceland beat England at EURO 2016,” he said.
“That victory was enormous and it was great to talk to people about it too.”