The 1st Annual MamaCan’s Mother’s Day Bazaar brings group members together to showcase and promote their work. Whether it’s a creative talent, a business in health and beauty products, a mommy & baby music class or a publishing agency these ladies have got it all! MamaCan’s motto is “if any mother can do it all, it’s a Canadian mother”.

For this event they chose to support Children’s Wish Foundation by providing them with a free table, collecting donated handbags and finding volunteers to sell the bags at the bazaar with all proceeds going to the Foundation. CWF was chosen because they work with communities across the country to provide children with life threatening illnesses the opportunity to realize their most heartfelt wish. By creating unique, meaningful experiences, Children’s Wish enhances quality of life for these courageous children and their families and MamaCan is proud to be able to help make some of these wishes come true in any way they can.

As for vendors, here’s a glimpse at a few who are participating in the bazaar and what they have to offer:

Shirley Chen

Shirley’s passion for music stems from early childhood whereby she learned to play many musical instruments. After her long search for a fun and affordable music program for her son failed, she decided to develop her own program and run it in her home-based studio in Scarborough. Little Treble Makers is a baby/toddler music program which she runs next to teaching bassoon and piano using modern and fun methods. Today Shirley has many students ranging in age from 0-70 thus proving that it’s never too early or late to start learning music.

Jenn Tesluk

Jenn is a working mom, a digital marcom professional by day and a distributor for SeneGence by night. She loved how Lipsense stayed on her lips and not on her son’s face when she kissed him and the rest is history! The staying power, water resistance and added skincare benefits of this product is perfect for every busy woman.

Jennifer Bogart Jaquith

Jennifer is one of 3 co-founders of Morning Rain Publishing. When she, Jaclyn Brown and Jo Kasunic couldn’t find fiction they loved, they set out on an adventure to discover fresh new Canadian voices. With over 20 titles by a dozen authors, the small press delivers quality novels for all ages in most genres.

Lynn Renzetti

Do you suffer from constant pain? Lynn helps people who are frustrated from dealing with pain find relief and improve their quality of life. She initially started using Voxxlife products to help her with her own pain and was so impressed with this Canadian sports and wellness technology that she decided to make it her business too! Through using Voxxlife’s neurological socks and insoles people are able to walk in comfort, improve their balance and range of motion.

Shewaa Haa

Making personalized gifts was a hobby for Shewaa until one day she decided to open her business ShayCreates which specializes in custom gift baskets. With a background in fine arts, Shewaa is able to create beautiful personalized gift baskets that are both unique and within her clients’ budgets.

Angel Young

In her long search for an opportunity to step outside her norm and comfort zone, Angel got introduced to Scentsy. She automatically fell in love with the product and that was her incentive to work hard, achieve more and grow her business. She’s excited to be on this Scentsy journey and is looking forward to see where it takes her.

Alison Coombs

Alison is a wife, a mother of 2 busy boys and a lifelong learner. Alison believes that all women should have access to safe yet effective exercise that support their bodies throughout the prenatal and postnatal stages. Her personalized in-home training programs and classes aim to strengthen the body, help with weight management and focuses on ways to produce good energy through fun fitness. Alison Coombs Wellness also offers wellness coaching, virtual training and postnatal fitness.

Sarah Volpe

Sarah has always loved using oils for their health benefits so the natural thing for her to do when she was searching for a flexible career was to become a Young Living Essential Oils consultant. That’s one passion! Her other passion is all about fashion and that’s when she decided to add on to her to-do list by working with Thirty One. Sarah’s commitment to the company is two fold; for their products as well as for how it encourages women, supports their efforts and rewards them for their hard work.

Shelley Davis

Shelley is our proud Avon lady; standing for more than just beauty! Shelley could remember the company since she was just a kid receiving an allowance and waiting to spend it on things she loved, one of which was Avon products. Needless to say she was thrilled when her daughter decided to become an Avon representative and that in turn made her decide to become one herself. So she decided to quit a full-time career and started doing something she really enjoyed; selling a wide variety of products she loves for a company with spirit, a company for women.

Lucinda Joseph

A life-long reader and advocate for the importance of reading aloud to children from birth, Lucy is a senior supervisor with Usborne Books at Home because it was the perfect fit for her family. Her work allows her to stay home with her children, share her passion for reading while earning an income. Reading is the single skill that every child needs!

Lorraine Hachey

Lorraine’s soap making journey began after being inspired by an all natural hand made bar of soap which was made the same way it was 100’s of years ago. She then created Rainkare Soaps, a small business committed to creating the highest quality artisan soaps and body products especially curated using natural extracts and oils to simultaneously clean, protect and nourish skin. Rainkare products are 100% handmade and are suitable for all skin types and ages.

Dr. Jo-Anne Mina

Dr. Mina brings health and wellness to another level where it’s not only about feeling good on the inside and out.  She focuses on identifying the body’s deficiencies and weaknesses by using natural medicine and science to treat the root of all ailments on a functional cellular level.  With her strong passion in educating and empowering patients, she helps them take charge to get excited about their health to become more aware of their body’s ability to heal – mentally, emotionally and physically. With a special interest in digestive concerns, hormones, anti-aging, Dr. Mino welcomes all health conditions.

Serene Srouji 

When Serene was gifted a unique scarf with a Hatta design for her birthday she was inspired to promote her culture through fashion and start selling these fabulous scarves. After quitting an administrative job and moving to Canada it was a perfect way for her to establish herself in a new place and stay busy. The scarves are suitable for all seasons, can be worn in a variety of ways and are a nice mix of the traditional and modern touch.

Tracy Bilton

Tracy’s journey with crocheting began when she was a small girl and when her mom taught her the basics. Her passion for crochet grew with her and as a teenager she would get self-learning books and magazines and learn how to make patterns and create “real” things. When the internet happened it opened up a whole new world for Tracy whereby her talent expanded and she was able to create unique items and find joy in seeing how happy her clients were with them. Today Tracy takes custom orders as well as sells her own crochet creations.

Jingwen Ng

Yina and Jing are avid lovers of Korean food. After moving to Ajax they were making frequent trips to North York to satisfy their food cravings due to the lack of Korean restaurants in Durham. The duo decided to own their own cafe selling Korean cuisine using the traditional recipes Yina learned from her grandmother. They named the cafe Ice Bar after the snowy dessert which they both love (Bingsu, Korean shaved ice, is the signature dessert at Ice Bar). They hope that Ice Bar Café will bring much joy to others, the way how Bingsu brought joy to them.

Here’s a list of community sponsors who generously supported this event by giving give-away vouchers to the crowd attending the bazaar: The Fun Factory- Pickering, What a Bagel- Ajax, Violet Bloom’s- Pickering, Mega Fun 4 Kids- Scarborough, Belaggio’s- Pickering and Ice Bar Cafe-Oshawa

Join the group Facebook and help grow this great community of Canadian mothers to become a voice heard and a catalyst for positive change in our beautiful country.

Sunday May 5, 2018 – 1pm to 4pm – Pickering Recreation Complex, 1867 Valley Farm Road, Pickering Ontario

Pickering Mayor, David Ryan, is scheduled to attend shortly after 1pm

About the Author

Bryen writes about local Durham community news, including regional events, municipality updates, entertainment, lifestyle, and the great outdoors. Email him directly if you want your business profiled or know a community member that deserves recognition - bryen@thelocalbizmagazine.com