Museum of Dufferin generates over $76,000 in sales at Holiday Treasures Craft Market

December 18, 2025 · 0 Comments

Written By Joshua Drakes

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

The Museum of Dufferin’s (MoD) annual Holiday Treasures Craft Market has been a resounding success again, raising tens of thousands of dollars for local businesses and the museum, to be reinvested in improving services for guests and visitors.

The market ran from Nov. 26 to Dec. 7, and Jasmine Proteau, MoD’s services manager, said it has been a long-running fundraising event that has never failed to attract talented creators and large crowds.

“This was our 21st annual market, we’ve been doing it for a long time, and really honed it to a science,” she said. “We bring in local creators from around the community, selecting a variety of vendors and giving them a table in the museum for 10 days, the length of the market. The vendors don’t actually have to stay here during the market; they can set up, and then we handle the sales and take care of everyone’s payments.”

This streamlined approach allows local businesses that are usually busy at events like this during the holiday season a stress-free environment to sell their goods while potentially participating in another market at the same time.

The financial success of the MoD’s hands-off approach speaks for itself.

“We made $4,381 in just donations at the door, the market was admission by donation, and we had 1,773 people, so that was already successful,” she said. “Our total sales this year, which isn’t just for us, it’s the vendors too, is $76,499. That’s how much merchandise we moved at the market.”

Unlike many markets in the area, Proteau said they take a very moderate cut of sales from vendors to encourage their businesses and growth in the community. That cut is 25 per cent, which could put their fundraising money into the tens of thousands of dollars, all of which will be reinvested to improve the museum.

“The fundraising really does help all our programs and help improve what we have to offer,” she said. “In most cases with our workshops and things, we only charge enough to cover expenses, not to make a profit, so this helps us with getting money towards specific improvements, especially where accessibility is concerned.”

“For example, if there is a building you can’t access because you can’t get up stairs, we can install an iPad outside with some interpretive materials of that building so you can look at the inside of the building without actually having to go in. We want to make our museum a more accessible place,” Proteau added.

The market was a culmination of cooperation between the community and the MoD, bringing in dozens of local vendors to give them a chance to showcase their unique talents, and a boon to the museum, helping secure important fundraising money to support ongoing improvement efforts around the property.

The MoD encourages any vendor interested in applying for the next market to do so. No favourites are factored, and they seek to maintain a fresh set of options for shoppers every year.

For more information on the MoD’s Holiday Treasures Craft Market, go to dufferinmuseum.com/holidaytreasures.