Brother-sister duo see big turnout for African Christmas market in Quebec City
Around 300 people showed up at Hotel Universel in Quebec City touring booths and buying products at the first edition of the African Christmas Market last month.
"Almost everyone sold out," said Rob Naah, who planned the market with his sister, Paola Naah and her boyfriend Patrick Stephane Njomo.
None of them imagined it would take off like this.
"It's actually a great feeling. And yeah, there was a lot of people," he said. "The only thing that people really complain about was it was just one day."
The two grew up going to Christmas markets in Europe, but wanted to create a unique space for local vendors in Quebec to sell products that reflect their background and cultures ahead of the holiday season.
The second and final edition of the Christmas market this year will run from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Hotel Normandin in Lévis on Saturday. (Muriel Leclerc/Marché de Noël Africain)
"[In Quebec City] we have the big market, like the German market and coming from a certain background we cannot always shop over there because sometimes we want homemade stuff," he said.
"It was a great, great feeling to have people just really connect and be able to network just because of a simple idea that started as a joke."
Paola came up with the idea partly because she noticed a gap in holiday markets in Quebec but was inspired by similar events in cities like Paris.
"I wanted to find one way to showcase the merchants, entrepreneurs, artisans of the African community," she said.
Booths offered handmade jewellery, bags, soaps, clothes, art and home goods. (Muriel Leclerc/Marché de Noël Africain)
She says their team received a lot of positive feedback about the impact of this type of event among the African diaspora community in the city.
"We had people calling us they were happy to feel to a certain extent represented," said Paola.
"We were saying that it's for someone who wouldn't go to the German Christmas Market because they're too cold and they're not used to it … They could come to this market with their kids, or their family or with friends and find a certain warmth."
Paola says they're looking forward to next year.
The creators of the market say they wanted to create a unique space for African merchants in Quebec City. (Muriel Leclerc/Marché de Noël Africain)
"We already want to do it again," she said. "What we did in Quebec City and Lévis, we were thinking of maybe adding another city…. We're really hoping to be able to do more of these great editions."
The second and final edition of the Christmas market this year will run Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Hotel Normandin in Lévis with booths offering handmade jewellery, bags, soaps, clothes, art and home goods. She invites everyone in the area to check it out.
"It's not a closed event just for the African community," she added. "At the German Christmas Market, it's not just Germans [who attend]," she joked.
The organizers say people seemed to connect and enjoy the event. They plan on brining the market back next year. (Muriel Leclerc/Marché de Noël Africain)
The now month-long German market is its 16th edition in Quebec City, with over 90 vendors across five locations, but Olivia Lexhaller, who runs the event, says it initially started out "very, very small."
"We were a couple of German immigrants starting this and preparing our own mulled wine and the Christmas cakes," said Lexhaller.
"And now it's a big event for Quebec City."
She welcomes the presence of other markets across the city, saying "the more we have, the better."
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
(CBC)
