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The Social Spot Cochrane putting the spotlight on local vendors during COVID-19

“The community here everybody supports each other— People want to support each other and lift each other up as much as we can,” Leonzio said. “This is an opportunity to do that.”
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Guests explore the Social Spot Cochrane's Valentine's Day market. Submitted Photo

COCHRANE— Finding a unique way to celebrate local entrepreneurs, The Social Spot Cochrane has been pivoting to adapt to COVID-19 public health measures.

The Social Spot Cochrane Market is organized by Kailey Leonzio of Quirk Social and serves as a way for local entrepreneurs to connect with the community.

The pop-up markets began in December and recently hosted a special Valentine’s Day shopping experience on Saturday (Feb. 13), which proved to be the most successful event to date, Leonzio said.

The Valentine’s Day event was also unique as it is the only market to date that has been for one day only and featured curated vendors with special items for the holiday.

“It was really awesome, some of our vendors sold out,” Leonzio said. “Everybody seemed to really enjoy themselves.”

The 4,300-square-foot space operates as a retail type shopping experience and has featured clothing sales along with the markets during COVID-19 public health measures.

The space can host up to 17 people at a time, excluding vendors and staff, and allows people to comfortably shop while practicing social distancing.

It is an exciting experience seeing people wait in line to visit the market, Leonzio said, adding she cannot wait for public health measures to be eased so more people can visit at once.

“With COVID we’re not going to go from being able to have 17 people in here to being able to have hundreds,” Leonzio said. “We’re navigating and pivoting to what COVID is allowing and we’ll continue to do that throughout the year.”

It was important to keep the space open to the public, Leonzio said, because it offers an opportunity for Cochrane residents to shop local and connect with local creators.

“The community here everybody supports each other— People want to support each other and lift each other up as much as we can,” Leonzio said. “This is an opportunity to do that.”

Valentine’s Day proved to be the perfect way to showcase local vendors, she said, because people could visit for holiday gifts knowing every dollar spent was going toward supporting Cochrane entrepreneurs.

She added there was also an opportunity to connect with the love of your life through the Cochrane Humane Society. The non-profit had puppies in place looking for homes and their perfect love connection.

It has been critical to include local non-profits at each market, Leonzio said, as many need continued support especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A lot of our non-profits in our community are a huge part of our community,” Leonzio said. “That's huge to me to support local and put some of the money we make back into our community.”

Previous events have supported Big Hill Haven and the Cochrane Activette’s Food Bank.

The idea to launch the Social Spot was inspired by the incredible entrepreneurs Leonzio has met in Cochrane— Many of whom work from home. She explained there is a wide variety of entrepreneurs who did not necessarily have the opportunity to showcase their businesses or events.

Leonzio wanted to create a space where people can meet and connect while showcasing their creations.

“Cochrane is such a community-based town, everybody supports one another,” Leonzio said. “This is their passion, a lot of them work full-time jobs and do this on the side.”

The Social Spot intends to create a space that can be rented out as an event space for workshops, seminars and community organizations.

“It’s so versatile that there’s so much stuff that can happen in here,” Leonzio said. “I think it’s going to be a really good year for what we can bring in, I’m excited.”

The future of the market will depend on COVID-19 restrictions, but a Spring Market is planned for March 19 and will run until May 30. Each weekend the market will be open Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Each weekend will feature different vendors.

Follow on the Social Spot on Instagram @thesocialspotcochrane or on Facebook at Quirk Social for more information on upcoming events.

 
 
 
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