WILKIE — The town of Wilkie, together with the Wilkie Reddi Mart, Georgine’s Greenhouse, Wilkie Pharmacy, both Delta Co-op Wilkie locations, Linda’s Pizza and the library and museum, hosted a special pre-Christmas late shopping night Dec. 14. The businesses offered various specials while getting in on the fun with crafts was the Wilkie branch of the Wheatland Library. The museum was open, with popcorn and juice available for visitors.
To help encourage people to come downtown, the town set up kids’ games and handed out treat bags at their office. The town office was also the launching point for truck and trailer tours of the Christmas lights in Wilkie, and provided hot chocolate and cookies to visitors.
Lori Fenrich, recreation director, reported there were four tours in total during the two hours between 6 and 8 p.m. Town staff had 26 children and 17 adults stop by to enjoy the games and treats.
The Delta Co-op grocery store had a busy evening with liquor and liqueur tasting and sales, “but other than that, it was a quiet night,” said Julie Spencer, marketing and communications manager. A representative from Minhas Sask was there to pour samples, mix drinks and make serving suggestions.
Georgine Thomas was happy with the evening’s activity, saying she had a steady stream of people come to her shop. She was especially glad to see some people who had never stopped in before and said, “They were impressed to see all the items available.”
At the Wilkie Reddi Mart, they saw a few more customers than usual. Lois Skinner was the winner of the draw for a $30 gift card of her choice.
Although it was slow at the museum until about 7 p.m., according to treasurer Laura Heilman, it got busy after that. In total some 30 people came by and museum volunteers served popcorn, juice boxes “and at the last minute decided to add hot chocolate because it was so blustery,” said Heilman. The kids also received treat bags. While the event took “a lot of prep, we had a blast,” Heilman said.
At the library, craft supplies were laid out on all the tables and about 25 people came out to make Christmas cards and origami Christmas trees. “It was a fun night,” said librarian Tamara.
While more people could have participated in Wilkie’s late night shopping events, those who came out, along with their business and non-profit hosts, had a good time.
