Manitouwadge’s Annual Craft & Gift Show

Written by admin on 22 November 2009

Craft & Gift show serves as launch to new business

by Karina Hunter

Northshore residents who visited the Manitouwadge Recreation Centre Saturday to shop and browse the wares of area businesses, groups and organizations, certainly had plenty to choose from. This year’s show had something for everyone beginning in the foyer where the Manitouwadge Cancer Assistance Group (MCAG), Manitouwadge Public School Grade 7/8 Trip, Manitouwadge High School Athletic Association and Manitouwadge Nursery School each had tables offering snacks, baked goods and merchandise. The show continued in the hall preceding the auditorium where a 2^nd pair of MCAG volunteers accepted silver donations as an entrance fee and Reenee Warren, Prenatal Programmer for the Ontario Early Years Centre – Manitouwadge Best Start Hub provided free childcare to parents browsing the show. OEYC Program Coordinator, Kelly Sagle said that the first 2.5 hours of the show were the busiest as shopping parents left their little ones to enjoy crafts and games “The kids had a great time and parents were able to enjoy themselves knowing that their children were busy crafting with new friends”.

One especially interesting table at this year’s craft show was that of , the entrepreneurial team of Peggy Harrop and Wayne Jarvis who chose to use the show as a launch for their new business.

Wayne Johnson gives one of his scrumptious egg rolls to a new customer.

Wayne Jarvis gives one of his scrumptious egg rolls to a new customer.

Having moved to Manitouwadge two years ago, Harrop and Jarvis shared their unique and delicious egg rolls with neighbors as an ice breaker to get to know the people in their neighbourhood. Egg rolls enveloping delicious one of a kind fillers such as the mix of sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers, onions, garlic and mozzarella cheese in their ‘Pizza Egg Roll’ or ground beef,
ground pork, onions, garlic, peppers, sauce, spices and peas in their “Jamaican Egg Roll” were a big hit receiving rave reviews from their new friends who insisted that they should be going into business to sell the rolls.

When Manitouwadge’s sole Chinese food restaurant, the Jade, closed their doors, Jarvis and Harrop saw a need that could be filled if they were prepared to go into business for themselves. An advertisement for the Annual Craft and Gift Show was the last nudge they needed and the pair got to work preparing brochures, order forms and even a website to accompany the tasty treats they introduced at the show. The work paid off as their table was one of the busiest at Saturday’s show. A clever marketing strategy, introducing each unique egg roll flavour one at a time throughout the first hours of the show kept people coming back to sample each as it was unveiled and in no time, orders were being made.

What’s next for Harrop and Jarvis? Having had an incredibly successful afternoon they will be quite busy but they aren’t content to just sit on Saturday’s success. Jarvis encourages people who missed the Craft & Gift show to visit them online at www.WokNRolls.net and place orders for company parties and family gatherings early. The couple also plans to become a mobile catering service by 2010 when they will offer their Pizza, Spicy Jamaican, Beef, Pork, Chicken, Shrimp and even Vegan Egg Rolls at events such as Dragfest, Live from the Rock and Pow Wows across the Northshore.

Harrop credited the success of their initial launch to the quality of the rolls which do not include cabbage filler like many store bought or restaurant rolls, “Our fillings are made from tender beef, pork, chicken breasts, shrimp and scampi, sausage, ground beef and pork, salami, and tasty vegetables” explained Harrop adding “I can’t share the secret of our special blends of sauces and spices but I will guarantee these are egg rolls like you’ve never tasted before!” It seems that show attendees agreed, the couple had posted the times at which each new flavour would be released and a line formed with many returning customers with the reveal of each new flavour. Congratulations to Wok n’ Rolls and good luck with your new endeavour.

An interested shopper admires the unique ornaments available at Stephanie Patton's craft table.

Other businesses, organizations and products at the show were Northern Trails Ski Club, Superior Wine, Stephanie Patton with her beautiful and unique crafts including some very unique tree ornaments created by her daughter, Watkins Products, Pampered Chef, Bogdala’s Smoked Meats, Manitouwadge Humane Society, Sheldon Plumber’s unique Bear With Me woodcrafts, Tupperware, Kathy Inwood’s Sterling Silver Jewlery of Marathon, Linda Oseiki and Suzanne Matheson each independently representing Mary Kay Cosmetics and many others.