Kinsmen fundraiser for Wellspring, Pelham Cares
It may have helped that the weather was mildly miserable on Saturday, including a sudden deluge of freezing rain at midday, to keep folks out of their gardens and in the community centre, where the Fonthill Kinsmen were holding their first Home Show after their 2020 event was canceled due to the pandemic.
Kinsmen President Len Doyle was all smiles as he took time to thank each vendor. Doyle said that planning for the show started before Christmas, but given uncertainties around Covid the club wasn’t sure until March 1 whether the event was on.
“When restrictions were lifted, suddenly everyone wanted in,” said Doyle. “We sold out.”
By 3 PM Saturday, 1000 visitors had come through the doors—almost pre-pandemic numbers—and Doyle said there were “smiles everywhere.”
Some 30 percent of the vendors were first-timers, including two businesses from Ridgeway that lately opened Pelham locations. And while the final total won’t be known until later this week, Doyle said he thought that cash donations at the door, benefiting Wellspring and Pelham Cares, were up over 2019.
