Blyth Friday to return for fifth year on Friday, Nov. 29

BY SCOTT STEPHENSON

On Nov. 29, the Village of Blyth will be kicking off the festive season with its annual Blyth Friday community event. Not only will the shops of downtown Blyth be open until 9 p.m. next Friday, there will also be a variety of free, family-friendly activities going on at locations all over town, including tree decorating, dance lessons, caroling and more.

 

It’s not entirely clear how the American tradition of Christmas shopping on the Friday after their Thanksgiving had its start, nor is it clear why, in recent years, Canadians have adopted this unofficial celebration of cheerful consumerism as one of their own autumn activities. There are many who are willing to spend an entire day at a big box store hunting for that elusive “Black Friday Deal” - the perfect discount gift that will transform their Christmas morning into something worth remembering. The latest addition to the Black Friday family is the so-called “Cyber Monday,” which uses online-exclusive deals to encourage internet-savvy shoppers to do all their gift-getting online.

 

The objective of Blyth Friday is to encourage shoppers to support the local economy by buying unique gifts for their loved ones at the stores in their own communities. While Black Friday may have originated as a cynical sales tactic, Blyth Friday seeks to celebrate all the things that make a small town’s festive season special. Louise Dockstader will be organizing the carol singers, and local musician Ava Dawe will be busking around town. The whole community is invited out to help decorate the tree outside of Memorial Hall. People are invited to head to The Cookie Rainbow right across the street to make decorations for the tree. If the weather is favourable, Les Cook and Anne Elliott will also be outside of Memorial Hall, teaching free dance lessons.

 

Event organizer Jennifer Triemstra-Johnston, who owns Pick-a-Posie Vintage on Queen Street, is overjoyed at the effort being put in by local volunteers to make this year’s event a memorable one. “Blyth Friday has a few more activities this year,” she explained. “And that is all thanks to Deborah Stevenson and Kelly Stevenson. With their suggestions and aid we were able to add a ‘Touch the Truck’ event and Food Drive in the municipal parking lot downtown... Deborah and Kelly have also developed the Blyth Friday Business Boggler Scavenger Hunt.”

 

Kelly will be running the Blyth Festival Art Gallery (BFAG) Holiday Night Market at Memorial Hall again this year, which features one-of-a-kind gifts created by local artists, artisans, authors and makers and has proven to be popular. The 2024 iteration of the Night Market promises to be an even tastier event than last year. “We’ve added Swasthi Jugdave of Swasthi’s Kitchen to our line-up, who will be offering samples of her delicious locally-made authentic South African Indian food throughout the evening on a donation basis,” Kelly explained.

 

Kelly has also organized a collaborative community art project for the evening entitled “Who We Are”. It’s a patchwork experiment that seeks to explore all that being a part of the community means to the different people of Blyth. “Who We Are” begins at the gallery on Blyth Friday, is open to all ages and skill levels, and all necessary materials will be provided. The finished project will be on display at the gallery’s 2025 Community Show.

 

This will be the third year that the BFAG has participated in the annual event. “It is incredibly important to us that the Blyth Memorial Community Hall is actively involved and active during as many community-wide events as it can be, so we’ve tried to step up and make sure that it happens,” Kelly pointed out. “Each year we’ve tried to diversify and expand on our part of the evening in ways that we hope will drive more people into spending more time exploring what the town has to offer.”

 

So, if you’re looking for a unique gift for a special someone, or just want to kick off the holiday shopping season by making some memories with friends and family, be sure to head to downtown Blyth on Nov. 29, from 5 to 9 p.m.