 |
| 105 Gibson Centre's Open Market took place last weekend |
 |
| Kids' Zone at the Open Market |
It's 2 a.m., we, and the Clean Up Team just finished cleaning up and putting away everything at the 105 Gibson Centre Open Market.
All the game booths, white rental tens were disassembled, folded and neatly put away awaiting to be transported back to the rental companies.
The waste material and garbage were disposed properly by the Waste Management Team.
 |
| Kids got free ice cream with the coupons they earned at game booths |
My husband is an early riser, therefore he goes to bed early everyday. He cannot function after 11p.m. no matter what.
In fact, in our thirty eight years of marriage, he rarely stays up after 12:00a.m. even if we are at a party or something.
He would just crash on someone's sofa and falls asleep in the middle of the party!
 |
| Wesley was in the Dunk Tank challenging people to dunk him! |
bunny!
Who could blame him for that?
After planning painstakingly and working on matters 2-3 times related to the Open Market event on a weekly basis for the past few months, he raveled in seeing the result of the team's hard work for the past two days!
 |
| Dunk Tank -A great fun raising activity! |
The 105 Gibson Centre's Open Market event was a success and a very enjoyable event indeed!
I, along with many others did not expect to see the event organized on such a large scale.
There were so much going on at the different event venues; it was incredible!
 |
| One of the many vendor booths at the Open Market |
When I got to community centre to help set up the Volunteer Booth at 1:30pm on Friday afternoon, about fifty white tents were up with vendors trying to get their booths and promotional materials and other things ready for the 6:00 p.m. opening.
 |
| The Open Stage - where entertainments were provided |
What most people did not expect to see was the huge professional outdoor stage set up outside the
105 Gibson Centre!
What a beautiful sight!
 |
| Two of our young dancers |
For the past two days during the event, the outdoor stage was well utilized as there were almost non stop entertainments taking place.
 |
| A traditional Chinese dance |
There were individual and group dances o f various styles by the very young to the senior groups.
The youngest dancer was merely three years old from a local dance school.
They looked absolutely adorable!
 |
| A hula hoop dancer |
There were lots of musical performances such as modern dances, rap songs and dances by various bands from different groups in the Markham, York region as well as from the Steeles and Warden communities.
 |
| A dance group entertaining the crowd |
It was just great to see people of all ages taking part on the stage and strutting their stuff!
There were singers and dancers from all ethnic groups.
 |
| The Open Stage provided a platform where young people could perform |
We especially enjoyed seeing the young people rapping and talking about their faith in different genre of music.
 |
| The singing contest was well attended |
The audiences were mesmerized by some groups and could feel the energy and thumping on the stage.
People really enjoyed the performances!
However, I wished there were programs available so that people were better informed of where and when things were taking place.
 |
| One of the singing contestants |
Not knowing that there were even better group dance performances scheduled towards the end of the show, I took a lot of pictures at the beginning.
 |
| BBQ lamb and squids - One of the most popular food booths |
There were a number of food and business vendors from the community both inside and outside the Open Market
venues.
 |
| Freshly cooked oysters were served at the food area |
The vendors sold quite a variety and interesting food items such as Middle Eastern BBQ, fresh sea food such as oysters, BBQ squids, lobsters, snails and clams as well as burgers, corns.
Homemade goodies e.g. mini muffins, dumplings, soups, meatballs, herbals drinks were all quite popular with the event goers.
 |
| Volley ball tournament in the 105 Gibson Centre gym |
Besides the exciting activities happening outdoors, there were many events e.g. basketball, volley ball, badminton tournaments going on in the state of the art 105 Gibson Centre gymnasium.
 |
| Our community & charitable vendors |
Our community partners and local charitable organizations, arts and crafts had their display booths set up inside the 105 Gibson Centre.
 |
| One of the Crafts Bootsh inside the Open Market building |
We did not forget our little people as there were lots to do for the kids - a Kids Zone with giant slides, games, face painting, crafts activities and free ice cream for them just right outside the building.
 |
| Many community groups were involved in this event |
I missed some great performances as I signed up to look after a couple of booths.
 |
| The sing out loud contest attracted a large crowd on Saturday evening |
The Open Market was from the evening of July 4 and ran for a full day on Saturday, July 5 starting from 10a.m. until well past 11p.m.
One of the best attended event was the Sing Aloud singing final contest held on Saturday evening.
 |
| Some of the judges at the singing contest |
The Open Market was a community event intended to reach out to the Steeles and Warden/ Markham communities.
Many residents from the community did come to enjoy the event. They did not believe that this Open Market event was organized by a community organization not by the city.
 |
| The Open Market lasted until 12a.m. on both evenings |
Event goers were awestruck upon learning that the beautiful and state of the art 105 Gibson building was privately funded (more than 95%) by a church congregation.
The weather also cooperated!
We thank God and everyone for this great community event!
Congratulations to a fantastic job! Well done, guys! It must have taken a very dedicated team of people and more than six hundred volunteers to get the job done.
The 105 Gibson Centre Team did it! The OrganizingCommittee should be brimming with pride that with great team work and spirit, they could pull off such a great event!
R.T.
Open Market - TOM
105 Gibson Centre
Markham, Ontario
