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NEED SOMETHING LOCAL, STAT?
Many a Royal Bison vendor’s work can be found at these fine Edmonton independent shops year-round:
• Hideout Distro (on 124st)
• Tix on the Square (Churchill Square)
SELECTED PRESS
Royal Bison returns in person, just in time for the holidays • Taproot Edmonton • December 2021
‘We got you’: Shop local for the holidays and avoid supply chain shortage stress • Global News • November 2021
Royal Bison thriving online amidst pandemic
Global Edmonton • Nov 2020
Beloved art & craft fair shifts to an online shop
CBC The Loop Podcast with Tara McCarthy • May 2020
Edmonton’s Royal Bison Fair announces new online format due to COVID-19
Global News • May 2020
35 Indie Craft Fairs Every Creative Person Needs To Visit
Buzzfeed • Nov 2014
ABOUT THE ROYAL BISON
The Royal Bison Fair pops up in Amiskwaciwâskahikan ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ, the territory of the nations of Treaty No. 6 and of the Métis and Blackfoot nations. The Royal Bison is committed to anti-racism. We work to create a welcoming, supportive, and capacity-building environment to show amazing work from our diverse maker community!
We’re a tightly-curated, vendor-run craft, art, and design fair located in the heart of the historic Old Strathcona retail district in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The fair has been blowin’ through town since 2007, has a ferocious following of loyal customers, and – dare we say? – gets better and better each season.
Three weekends a year – once in the spring and twice in the winter – top-notch makers, designers, illustrators, ceramicists, and assorted hangers-on, showcase their work, bringing with them some of the most vivid design, art, and craft in the country. The fair revels in all things local and independent, acting as a springboard and showcase for creative endeavours from the prairies and beyond.
WHO RUNS THIS THING, ANYWAY?
Tracy Niven
Tracy Niven is a graphic designer and art director in Edmonton. They've been slingin' prints, pins and other things under Lonely Coyote since 2020. You can view more of their work at tracyniven.com
Zeph Mitchell
Zeph Mitchell is a multidisciplinary artist, and started vending at Royal Bison in 2019. He loved the market so much and being a part of it, so decided to help a bit behind the scenes.
Stephanie Simpson
Stephanie Simpson is an illustrator and photographer, as well as a long-time vendor at the Royal Bison. Check out her work at stephsimpson.ca
Genevieve Ongaro
Genevieve has been a Royal Bison vendor for almost 5 years. Her Material Culture side project began as a way for her to explore different media and express herself in ways that her graphic design career didn’t allow for.
Nico Humby
Nico Humby is a designer, illustrator and Bluegrass musician. He's been selling prints and handmade frames at the Royal Bison since 2020. Check 'em out at nicohumby.com
Morgan Pinnock
Morgan Pinnock is an artist and video producer based in Edmonton. Since moving to the city in 2014, she has been committed to building a strong and supportive art community through her work on boards and committees for SNAP, Latitude 53, and Mile Zero Dance.
Vikki Wiercinski
Vikki Wiercinski is a graphic designer and ceramicist. She has been organizing the Royal Bison since 2010. Read more about her work at veekee.ca
• The Royal Bison Art and Craft Fair has been shaped by the blood, sweat and spreadsheet tears of more than a few local Edmonton community organizer-artists since 2007. Shout out to previous organizers who have since moved on to other projects, including: Emily Chu, Andrew Benson, Jim Johansson, Josh Holinaty, and Jeanie Andronyk. The fair wouldn't exist if it hadn't been started in 2007 by Raymond Biesinger, high fivvvves.