Editor:
It is customary for a letter of thanks to appear after the Sun Festival Antique Fair, but this year extraordinary events have prompted me to write a an early thank you note.
The failure of the Ladner Leisure Centre wall last winter, and the subsequent additional damage to the building, caused Delta's parks and recreation department to evict the Sun Festival Antique Fair from the South Delta Recreation Centre to accommodate a summer hockey camp, as the hockey camp could not wait one week to have the ice put back in the arena.
As there was no comparable venue to hold the show, and that annual trade shows that are cancelled for one year tend to wither away, for a time the 36th annual Sun Festival Antique Fair was going to be nothing more than a historical footnote.
It was decided to run an "emergency" show at the South Delta Recreation Centre in the meeting rooms on the north side of the building to keep the show in operation. The show will be smaller in size but will have the best of dealers in attendance, with lots of antiques and collectables for sale. We will also offer an "outside pitch" for dealers who like to sell in the fresh air.
The entrance fee is $4 on Sunday and $2 on Monday and the monies, as always, help fund the annual Sun Festival event.
In the 35-year history of the Sun Festival Antique Fair, the show has generated over $120,000 for the Sun Festival and has also invested $15,000 in electrical upgrades for the arena. I would like to thank everyone in advance for attending this year's show and a good turnout will ensure that the Sun Festival Antique Fair will return to its old haunts, with a full complement of dealers, in the arena in 2015.
D. Malcolm Johnston
Coordinator Sun Festival Antique Fair
