‘The Big One’ hits 20

Submitted photo

Karen Keilback, right, presents a cheque to Noreen Templeton of the Canadian Cancer Society in 2008. The money represented proceeds from last year’s The Big One arts and crafts sale.

Karen Keilback gets all kind of positive feedback to indicate that her annual craft sale — The Big One — is a hit.

One form of feedback comes from the approximately 7,000 people who stroll through the two rooms at the Keystone Centre, the Manitoba and UCT, over two days each October, clutching their cash-filled wallets and credit cards. The second form of feedback comes from the eagerness of vendors to sign up for the following year.

“When the vendors rebook before they leave, that’s a good sign that they’ve had a good weekend sales-wise,” says Keilback, who took over operation of the show 12 years ago from Jackie Cole, who moved away. This year marks the 20th anniversary of The Big One arts and crafts sale.

How big is it?

This year, 195 booths will be rented, with people selling home-made goods — from pottery to woodwork to clothing to tools to jewelry . . . “just a wide variety of things,” says Keilback.

And when things settle down after The Big One has concluded, and Keilback is counting up the proceeds and figuring out her expenses, she always allocates a good chunk to the Canadian Cancer Society. That’s because 20 or 25 members of the local UCT association volunteer their time to work at the event, and the Cancer Society is one of its major charities. In the 11 years Keilback has operated The Big One, she has donated $37,000 to the Cancer Society.

“I could always use my kids and some of their friends to do the work the UCT does, and keep the money to myself, but it’s nice to be able to give back to the community,” says Keilback. “And the UCT people are great. Donna Lochhead is the ringleader and they do a fantastic job, putting up posters, handling the PSAs . . . things I can’t do myself.”

The Brandon branch of the Cancer Society is grateful for Keilback’s generosity.

“Her annual show gives us so much awareness,” said Megan Svistovski, co-ordinator, special events, for the Cancer Society. “It’s great community involvement. She’s a real leader in the community.”

Before taking over ownership of The Big One, Keilback was one of many vendors — selling clothes she had sewn, paintings, Christmas decorations, etc. After exercising the opportunity to purchase the event from Cole, she made a number of changes, including separating each vendor with curtains and expanding to the UCT hall.

Only a few of the vendors are from the immediate Westman area. Many come from Saskatchewan and the Winnipeg area, while others are from Alberta and B.C. Last year, a New Brunswick vendor showed up.

Keilback is too busy to operate a booth herself, spending the weekend looking after the vendors, rebooking for the following year, answering questions, and dealing with every need of the people operating the 195 booths. The weekend of the show is a culmination of a year’s work. “My husband (Brent) is an insurance executive, and he’s away a lot, so I have a lot of time on my own to get things ready.”

Once the big weekend arrives, it’s a real family affair, as she enlists the help of Brent and her two teenage children, Kelsey, 16, and Bryce, 13, for any odd jobs that need attention.

Hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

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