Christmas Craft Fair in STA School Gym

The STA Christmas Craft Fair is a large, well-established and popular holiday artisan market at North Vancouver‘s St. Thomas Aquinas School in November.

After not happening for four years due to COVID, it’s back in 2023, which is awesome, because it’s such a great event! The market takes place on Sunday, November 5th.

Visit aquinas.org for the event’s official website.

This article contains the following information about the STA Christmas Craft Fair:

STA Christmas Craft Fair in North Vancouver

The St. Thomas Aquinas Christmas Craft Fair is an annual event that attracts over 100 vendors. Vendors are jury-selected artisans and the quality of the products is high.

The last time the craft fair happened was in 2019. That year, with a brand new school and gymnasium, the Fair had 20% more artisan vendors than in previous years due to the increased space. That year, about 2000 people attended the one-day event, which was a record! It will be interesting to see how many shoppers show up this year.

Where and When

The Craft Fair takes place at St. Thomas Aquinas which is an independent Catholic school. Its address is 541 West Keith Road which is about halfway between the Lions Gate Bridge and Second Narrows Bridge in North Vancouver. It’s about a 5-minute drive from Lonsdale Quay and the Shipyards District.

During the event free parking is available on neighbouring streets.

In 2023 the event happens on Sunday, November 5th, from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm.

Admission Rates

Admission to the market costs $5 for adults and $2 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased at the school on the day of the event.

What to Expect at the STA Christmas Craft Fair

The St. Thomas Aquinas Christmas Craft Fair is one of the Lower Mainland’s largest and best-run markets of its kind. It’s well-known for the quality of its products, and shoppers come not only from the North Shore, but from across all of Metro Vancouver. It’s a first-rate event!

Expect to see an assortment of quality products including handmade clothing, beautiful home décor, fancy jewellery and gourmet food products. At the event there is also a Bookstore as well as a Café which serves tasty warm meals, coffee and sweets.

The St. Thomas Aquinas Christmas Craft Fair is also well known for its awesome raffle baskets. Winners of the raffle baskets are announced towards the end of the day, but ticket holders don’t have to be present to claim their prizes.

STA Christmas Craft Fair Video

For an idea of what to expect at the event, check out the following video. It shows scenes from the craft fair in 2019.

(The music in this video is Christmas Story by Oleksii Kaplunskyi from Pixabay.)

Information for Vendors

The organizers of the STA Christmas Craft Fair look for artisan vendors who offer locally-made, original, “vintaged-up cycled” and handmade items.

To participate in the event, artisans’ products are subject to the approval of a jury which means the quality has to be high.

From what we’ve heard from participating artists, the STA students and volunteers treat vendors like royalty! Exhibitors are greeted by student volunteers who can help unload and reload products. The school even provides hosts who can mind vendor stalls temporarily if they need to step away for a minute.

In short, for shoppers and vendors alike, this North Vancouver market is very popular.

Seema's Jardin de Fleur — Seema’s Jardin de Fleur’s Silk Scarves

Tips and Advice

Below are some suggestions to help you make the most out of your shopping experience at the St. Thomas Aquinas Christmas Craft Fair.

TIP #1: If it’s not too busy and you get a chance, chat with the vendors. Hear their stories and learn about their products. It’s fun, you’ll learn something interesting about what you’re buying, and the interaction between the creators of the products and the purchasers can be a special part of the experience. So many items have a story behind them!

TIP #2: The food served at the Café is delicious. Plan to stay for lunch!

TIP #3: Many vendors can accept credit card payment, but all can take cash (so we advise taking cash). An ATM is conveniently available onsite.

TIP #4: Bring your own shopping bags. Vendors do have bags to give out, but it’s preferable if you use your own reusable ones (and it’s better for the environment too).

TIP #5: Instead of doing most of your holiday shopping at big box stores or online through giant retailers, buy your gifts at craft fairs like the one at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. By doing so you’ll support local artists while finding wonderful, unique, high-quality and affordable gifts that your friends and family will love and appreciate!

Tips About the Raffles

TIP #6: With the raffle baskets, each basket is raffled off separately. When you buy your tickets you can place them in different bins in front of each basket. You can put all your tickets in one basket’s raffle bin (to increase your odds of winning the prize you want most), or you can put your tickets in multiple bins for chances to win a number of different baskets.

TIP #7: Again with the raffle baskets, your odds of winning the most popular baskets will be lowest (because they will have the most tickets in their bins). The odds of winning the less valuable/popular baskets will be highest (as you will be competing against fewer ticket holders).