Regina's Centennial Market losing its home

CBC
·2 min read
Centennial Market is closing its doors on May 26 after Regina Fire and Protective Services deemed the building unsafe. (CBC News - image credit)
Centennial Market is closing its doors on May 26 after Regina Fire and Protective Services deemed the building unsafe. (CBC News - image credit)

One of Saskatchewan's biggest indoor markets is losing its home.

Regina's Centennial Market has been housed in the former Sears Clearance building for more than eight years, but organizers say Regina Fire and Protective Services recently found that the building isn't up to code.

The building's owner has decided not to make the necessary fixes, so Centennial Market's last day is scheduled for May 26.

"It's devastating. It's a place where vendors could come and show off their stuff, and it was affordable," Sandra Klein, president of the market's board, said. "I don't know about getting it back. I'm not sure if we ever will."

Klein said the market has been her passion and she loved to see it grow.

Jim Smith set up shop in Early April only to find out the market is shutting down.
Jim Smith set up shop in Early April only to find out the market is shutting down.

Jim Smith set up shop in early April, only to find out the market would be shutting down. (CBC News)

Vendor Jim Smith just started selling at the market at the beginning of April.

"Pretty disappointing that we just got started and now we're going to go back to doing trade shows," Smith said.

Smith said he and his wife spent $900 setting up shop.

"There's no way we can get that money back," he said.

Eileen Heibein has been visiting the market since it opened eight years ago.

"It was very sad because where are we going to socialize now?" she said. "I've shopped every stall there is and enjoyed every one. So many wonderful people. I've gotten to know them all."

Eileen Heibein said she's sad that the market is losing it's home because she has been visiting since it first opened, and enjoys socializing with the vendors and visitors.
Eileen Heibein said she's sad that the market is losing it's home because she has been visiting since it first opened, and enjoys socializing with the vendors and visitors.

Eileen Heibein said she's sad that the market is losing it's home because she has been visiting since it first opened, and enjoys socializing with the vendors and visitors. (CBC News)

Alan Goode, one of the volunteer directors at the market, said he's trying to make the best of a bad situation. Goode said the closure is all about public safety and there's nothing the market's vendors and board can do.

"Can we afford to go someplace else and perhaps pay two or three times the rent we have for the same facilities?" he said. "For a lot of people that just doesn't work. A lot of people here are just hobbyists."

He said the market is not like a shopping mall, it's a place where the community comes together to socialize.

"It's a very strange, but lovely, unique marketplace and it's something you grow into," he said. "You can't replicate that instantly. It takes a long time."