In the first few months of 2020, Wild Heart was projecting one of our BEST years to date! We were beginning to prep for summer festivals that would shut down City streets, food tours and long table dinners, live concerts in the park with local musicians, expanding our beloved 124 Grand Market, and more.
Instead of being devastated all of our hard work & 2020 dreams had been set on fire, our team pivoted to create new solutions and teamed up with community partners. We launched three new events (Al Fresco on 4th, Free Wheelin’ Food Truck Fest, and Park Street Project), moved Eats on 118 to an online/delivery model & presented the first Public Offering boxes that featured new and emerging food businesses. We launched a new branding campaign for Beverly Business Improvement Area, including a brand new website!
We brought back a few favorites, including the 124 Grand Market and the Edmonton Christmas Market!
Now, let’s take a look at some of the 2020 highlights!
124 Grand Market’s 9th Season on Market Street!
You may have noticed this season looked a bit different- Our team had to completely rethink the layout & processes of the market to adapt to new COVID policies that put safety at the forefront. Vendors were physically-distanced, barriers to secure central entry/exit points, increased sanitation, handled line management and limited capacity, asked all patrons to sanitize or wash hands before entering, and moved our programming online.
In the end, the 124 Grand Market successfully ran 39 incident-free markers in 2020! (aka- ALL Thursday and Sunday market combined!). We welcomed 50 new local businesses to the collective, 7 new volunteers to our dream team, and partnered with Allstars in the community, like Blackmore Real Estate, who helped our team on site!
Park street project
Wild Heart teamed up with Inglewood Community League and Alberta Culture Days to bring families together to help create a massive mural created by a local Indigenous artist Lance Cardinal! Find out more about Lance on our Meet the Artist feature.
Park Street Project brought together 77 folks (34 cohorts!) on a sunny day in September to enhance, beautify & bring people together in a covid-safe environment. We look forward to continuing working with local artists to make Edmonton more vibrant!
Al fresco on 4th
We are so excited to be working with the 104 Street Committee and the Downtown Business Association to bring a new downtown celebration that featured 30+ local makers, extended patios, food trucks, live music, and furry friends!
This summer celebration brought foot traffic back to 104 Street & helped support businesses on the street. We can’t wait for more sunny days back #on4th!
The Public Launched Public Offering Boxes
The Public helps to develop products and brands from concept to shelf. Part lab, part production facility, part venue, and gathering space, and part retail market, The Public will be the first facility of its kind in Alberta opening in Spring 2021!
As The Public is finishing up construction, we worked with micro-food businesses to bring together a variety of local boxes! In partnership with The Citadel Theatre and Varscona Theatre, we packed over 450 Holiday Boxes that supported 25 local food makers!
We are so grateful to those who supported our events, markets, and programs in 2020! This was a challenging year, but the support & positive from the community made all the difference.
We can’t wait to share what we have in store for 2021- It’s going to be a great year!