Samson Native Gallery extends lease at second location due to success – Ponoka News
Due to the success of recent months, Samson Native Gallery, which includes items from local Maskwacis artists, is extending their lease in West Edmonton Mall.
“During COVID-19, we saw an opportunity to open up a second location in West Edmonton Mall,” said Thea Simon, manager at Samson Native Gallery.
From October, 2020 to January, 2021, Samson Native Gallery opened a pop up shop in West Edmonton Mall as a response to COVID-19 measures in Lake Louise.
Simon says they are extending the lease in the West Edmonton Mall location due to the success of the pop up shop and increase in demand of real Indigenous items by Albertans. The sales of items such as ribbon skirts and handmade bead work increased over the summer months.
Due to the demand, the store has extended their lease until December of this year — just in time for the holidays.
“Customers love the store, a lot of people are very interested in our culture and are very happy to see an Indigenous store in West Edmonton Mall,” said Simon.
She says customers love the fact they have handcrafted, authentic artifacts from Indigenous artists from throughout Canada. Nothing in the store is imported from overseas.
All items sold are 100 percent made by Indigenous people of Canada. Many of the artists featured in their store have spent their lives dedicated to creating art and the tradtion is often passed down.
Simon says her team researches the best items to be sold in their store. She will often go to an artist’s home community to look for the latest pieces as well.
“The Samson Gallery showcases and supports talented Indigenous entrepreneurs by selling their authentic art and fashionable items,” said Katherine Swampy, Samson Cree Nation councillor.
Swampy says Indigenous peoples have a rich cultural heritage and this vendor is sharing those beautiful items with the public.
She explains that it’s such a rare shopping experience to see so much Indigenous work made available to the public.
“I hope everyone gets the chance to stop in, check them out, and buy some of the articles,” said Swampy.
The primary location of Samson Native Gallery is located at the Samson Mall in Lake Louise, Alberta.
Samson Native Gallery opened in 2012. The store showcases renowned and prestigious Canadian First Nations artisans including paintings, sculptures, prints, handcrafted jewelry and more.
“When tourists visit Canada, there’s no shortage of dream catchers and moccasins — unfortunately most of those items are made overseas and are actually items of cultural appropriation. Indigenous art often gets exploited. The items at the Samson gallery are handcrafted and made by Indigenous artists. This is cultural appreciation,” said Swampy.
Community
B.C. Place to welcome back fans Thursday for first time in almost 18 months
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Share this Story: B.C. Place to welcome back fans Thursday for first time in almost 18 months
B.C. Place to welcome back fans Thursday for first time in almost 18 months On Thursday, 529 days on, fans will again be in the stands at B.C. Place as the B.C. Lions host the Edmonton Elks Photo by NICK PROCAYLO / PNG
Article content It’s been almost 18 months since fans filed into B.C. Place Stadium to watch the World Rugby Sevens Series on March 7-8, 2020.
Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content On Thursday, 529 days on, fans will again be in the stands as the B.C. Lions host the Edmonton Elks, passing through state-of-the-art metal detectors. We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or B.C. Place to welcome back fans Thursday for first time in almost 18 months Back to video The last Lions home game with bums in the seats was 657 days ago; the Vancouver Whitecaps, who host Los Angeles FC on Saturday, last played in front of home fans 539 days ago. Across the street, the Vancouver Canucks played their last fans-in-the-seats game on March 10, 2020. Lower bowl and suite seating will be at 50-per-cent capacity, meaning about 12,500 fans for football games and about 13,000 for soccer matches. The stadium has a maximum capacity of approximately 54,500. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO / PNG Those fans will notice new protocols in place for both COVID-19 and for security checks, including a 100-per-cent mobile ticketing platform with Ticketmaster’s SafeTix.
Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content “What it is, SafeTix provides an encrypted ticket to each of our guests and that really helps eliminate fraud, it helps understand the chain of custody of the ticket, and who ultimately ends up in the building,” Jenna Visram, assistant general manager at B.C. Place, said on Monday. There will be staff to help people find their seats, which are allocated with distancing in mind by an algorithm. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO / PNG Other new twists to attending games at B.C. Place include a clear-bag policy, cashless payments at concession only, touch-free entry, a ban on congregating on the concourse — get your food and beverage, or visit the washroom, then straight back to your seat — and a recommendation that masks be worn inside. And if you forget and have a bag that isn’t clear plastic, there will be places to check it at Gates C and H.
Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content “The clear bag has been implemented so we could avoid contact with guests, you know, rummaging through people’s bags to ensure they don’t have anything that isn’t allowed into the venue,” Visram said. When you enter through the new, touchless metal detectors, you are asked to keep your mobile phones, keys, coins, watches and jewelry on you, while taking out cameras and umbrellas to slide through on a little shelf. The venue is now also cashless, with payments made through mobile devices or prepaid cards. “For those who don’t have a mobile form of payments, we also have put in place a cash-to-card system, so essentially you purchase a gift card for the venue, which you can use on food and beverages,” Visram said. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO / PNG There is no service charge for the cash cards, B.C. Place claims they don’t rip and are water proof, and they never expire. If you don’t want to physically carry the card, a photo of the QR code is fine, Visram said. B.C. Place last year became the first stadium in Canada to obtain a third-party endorsement from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council’s GBAC STAR accreditation. “We’re really proud of that achievement,” Visram said. “All of our operating procedures have been evaluated, all of our cleaning products have been evaluated to ensure we’re meeting that high standard. “The GBAC STAR is really the gold standard in housekeeping and environmental services.” gordmcintyre@postmedia.com twitter.com/gordmcintyre
Share this article in your social network
Latest National Stories Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
The Province Headline News Sign up to receive daily headline news from The Province, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. Sign Up By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of The Province Headline News will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
B.C. Place to welcome back fans Thursday for first time in almost 18 months
B.C. Place to welcome back fans Thursday for first time in almost 18 months
On Thursday, 529 days on, fans will again be in the stands at B.C. Place as the B.C. Lions host the Edmonton Elks
It’s been almost 18 months since fans filed into B.C. Place Stadium to watch the World Rugby Sevens Series on March 7-8, 2020.
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
On Thursday, 529 days on, fans will again be in the stands as the B.C. Lions host the Edmonton Elks, passing through state-of-the-art metal detectors.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Try refreshing your browser. B.C. Place to welcome back fans Thursday for first time in almost 18 months Back to video
The last Lions home game with bums in the seats was 657 days ago; the Vancouver Whitecaps, who host Los Angeles FC on Saturday, last played in front of home fans 539 days ago. Across the street, the Vancouver Canucks played their last fans-in-the-seats game on March 10, 2020.
Lower bowl and suite seating will be at 50-per-cent capacity, meaning about 12,500 fans for football games and about 13,000 for soccer matches. The stadium has a maximum capacity of approximately 54,500.
Photo by NICK PROCAYLO / PNG
Those fans will notice new protocols in place for both COVID-19 and for security checks, including a 100-per-cent mobile ticketing platform with Ticketmaster’s SafeTix.
“What it is, SafeTix provides an encrypted ticket to each of our guests and that really helps eliminate fraud, it helps understand the chain of custody of the ticket, and who ultimately ends up in the building,” Jenna Visram, assistant general manager at B.C. Place, said on Monday.
There will be staff to help people find their seats, which are allocated with distancing in mind by an algorithm.
Photo by NICK PROCAYLO / PNG
Other new twists to attending games at B.C. Place include a clear-bag policy, cashless payments at concession only, touch-free entry, a ban on congregating on the concourse — get your food and beverage, or visit the washroom, then straight back to your seat — and a recommendation that masks be worn inside.