Fredericton's Cultural Market thankful for success

Thefledgling cultural market in Fredericton has a lot to be thankful for this weekend it has expanded to become much larger than any of the organizers ever expected in thefewmonths since its opening.

The Cultural Market opened on August 1with 24 vendors. That number has since climbed to 38, with an additional 14 on awaitinglist.

"It is definitely growing," said Danny Taylor, one of the four market founders.

"We've added, just in the last two weeks, four additional vendors. We're in talks with three more. So we're definitely growing. The idea is tobring in as many cultures as possible, so the sky is really the limit."

With so many vendors and people frequenting the Saturday market, organizers are already re-considering someof the hours and expanding the market area to accommodate everyone.

"You can traverse the world, just by walking through here," saidCharit Khatri, market co-founder. "We've gotFilipino, Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Mexican, Vietnamese, South Korean, Japanese, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria... you get the idea."

Canada is also represented amongthe vendors. Organizers brought ina local farmer to not only sell his harvest, but to share his knowledge of Canadian crops for the holiday.

"The farmer spoke to these new immigrants, explained what to do for Thanksgiving, and now they are trying that food out, and the recipes andhow to cook it," said Khatri.

"It's great to see that these people, whowould otherwise never meet each other, are kind of getting integrated, sharing local customs and local festivals and being a part of the community."

The Cultural Market takes place every Saturday from8 a.m. to 5 p.m.at the Cultural Center in downtown Fredericton.