Christmas at the Forum revamps to support local crafters during pandemic

Every morning, Peggy Meisner wakes up at 5 a.m. and heads to her barn in New Germany, N.S. 

After 30 years, it no longer holds chickens. Instead, it's packed wall to wall with Christmas crafts.

Meisner sits down and gets to work making lamp posts, snowmen and Grinches before daybreak.

"My husband usually doesn't see me come in the house until 4:30 or 5 o'clock," she said.

Meisner, the owner of Christmas Dove Crafts, sets up a popular booth at five different craft shows in Nova Scotia every year. This year, she feared the Grinch would win and there would be none.

But she kept on crafting, all the same.

"I worked as if there was going to be shows for the year," she said. "It keeps my mind occupied from all the bad stuff in the world that's happening right now."

A few weeks ago, Meisner got the call she was waiting for. Chris Banks, the owner of Christmas at the Forum, reached out to see if she'd be up to participating in the annual sale of festive swag from local makers.

The event typically draws 25,000 people who stand shoulder to shoulder at the Halifax Forum — something Banks realized would be impossible under COVID-19 health guidelines.

He decided to ask the vendors if anyone would want to take part, providing he could find a way to work within the province's rules.

"The overwhelming response is what made me come to this decision to move forward," Banks said.

Instead of a packed house over a few days, Christmas at the Forum will be hosted over the next seven weekends. It's one of the only Christmas sales in the province to go ahead this year.

Community tradition

"Normalcy is something that we all long for right now," said Banks. "I feel the big thing about having our show is that it's a part of the culture of Halifax."

It's not just about the culture. For Banks, it was important to be able to support the vendors who have become his friends over the years.

"I feel from a community perspective, the ability to buy local is still such a huge aspect of our lives."

Meisner has committed to showing up every weekend, while others will only attend a few.

"I know for a lot of the smaller crafters, this is their only source of income," she said. "I think it's going to be wonderful. People want something fun in their lives and something they can look forward to."

She said she wouldn't be participating if she didn't trust the plan.

"Nova Scotia, we're one of the luckiest places in the world right now," she said. "If I didn't feel confident or safe, I wouldn't be attempting to do this seven weekends in a row because I am over 60 now."

Banks has spent months working out the details to get final approval from Public Health.

Instead of lining up down the block, people will have to buy tickets in advance. They'll get a 90-minute window to visit the booths, and just 200 people will be allowed in at a time.

After they leave, all the vendors will sanitize their stations and reset before the next group comes in.

"We've taken the measures to the extreme and we're making sure that we follow everything," said Banks.

The event won't wind through the arena like it has in the past; instead, it will be limited to the multipurpose room. Shoppers will have to travel in one direction, and there will only be tables set up on one side of the aisle.

For Banks, going ahead also meant turning down several vendors who typically come from outside the Atlantic bubble.

"The only way you'd be able to come is if you can prove you self-isolated for 14 days, so right now I have not received anybody from outside the bubble," he said.

"I don't want to be responsible for changing the success that we've had."