On Friday evening the Municipality of Alleyn-et-Cawood hosted a grand opening for the new artisan shop at its public library and municipal hall. 

The shop allows local creators to display their works, and a portion of the sales will go towards library programming. 

Mayor Sidney Squitti introduced the rest of her freshly-elected council, and said that the new shop is a team effort that was spearheaded by special events coordinator Sheila Emon and Director General Isabelle Cardinal.

“This is a wonderful initiative that gives local artisans a place to showcase their creations,” she said. “It is also a fundraiser for our library. A percentage of the sales goes directly to the library and helps purchase craft supplies, games and books. This support allows our library to continue growing and become more self-sufficient. We gladly welcome additional artisans who would like to display their work in the future.”

Squitti said that the municipality had just secured funding for a new “parkour” play structure in its park, with roughly $10,000 in funding from Loisir Sport Outaouais, which she expected to be installed in the spring. 

“We have our 150th coming up in June so we really want our park to be A-plus for June,” Cardinal added.

Emon, the special events coordinator, said that there were about 10 different artisans represented in the display, selling everything from laser engraved cutting boards to soaps and jewelry. She said she was proud of the work that her little community has completed. 

“We’ve accomplished a lot with what we’ve got and we need to get our face out there and we need people to know who we are,” she said. “I want people to come to Danford and enjoy what we have to offer.”