Luxton Market
Keeping it local at the Luxton Market
It started with a blackberry and got out of control.
Highland’s resident Sarah Shasko made so much jam that the jars took over her home. Giving them away as presents only dented the supply so much and finally her husband Mike suggested perhaps she try selling a few.
“I never really thought of trying to sell my jams before,” she said. “It was actually a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.”
She joined the Luxton Station Market in its inaugural year and ended up selling 1,350 jars of jams and jellies under the name Highlands Jams.
The demand is there, she said, noting she’s doubling production for this year’s market season which kicks off at Luxton Fairgrounds Saturday, May 31. What started as a passion is turning into a full-time job for the mother of two.
“Sometimes I will stay up nights and do it when the kids are asleep,” she said.
Just how many hours go into each jar is dependent on the recipe. The lemon ginger marmalade takes two to three hours, while the ginger jelly takes a full three days for one batch. Shasko makes anywhere from two to three batches a day — filling upwards of 24 jars. The self proclaimed “recipe hound” has made jam for more 10 years, always fiddling and perfecting the recipes she finds.
Making a good batch of jam is rewarding but there’s a certain feeling she gets when people come to her market table looking for something they’ve had before or something recommended by a friend. From the very beginning Luxton Market was a welcoming place to be, she said.
“It was such a positive experience that’s what made me think of trying another market in the area,” she said. Shasko also sells at the Metchosin market.
Luxton wins hands down with her daughters though, she said. There is a playground, bubble table and food to enjoy. It’s become a family affair with her husband selling his photography in the next booth and grandman looking after the girls.
“She buys them fudge from the Fudge Fairy when she thinks I’m not looking,” she said with a laugh.
The market is really about giving local producers a place to sell with a good family atmosphere, said market manager and cookie vendor Kelly Sturmey.
“I have never been to a market so family like. Everyone is doing business but it’s a family doing business,” she said.
Farmers with produce, crafters, bakers and more display their wares every Saturday. For the young and young-at-heart there is a bubble table and playground.
“Some of our main bubble fans are not exactly in the juvenile category,” she said with a laugh.
They are always looking for more vendors and the rules are pretty simple: if you make it, grow it or create it, you can sell it at the Luxton Station Market.
“It’s to allow for a greater demand of local products so that one day maybe we can feed ourselves,” Sturmey said. “The more demand the more the growers will produce.”
