Mental Health Awareness Market and Fundraiser to Hold Second Annual Event in Fredericton

FREDERICTON – This upcoming weekend, the Mental Health Awareness Market and Fundraiser will be holding their second annual event. Kristen Lyons, event organizer, says that she is excited to see everyone in attendance yet again.

The Mental Health Awareness Market and Fundraiser is an annual fundraiser that aims to bring awareness to the mental health crisis in Canada and New Brunswick. With 2023 being their second year in operation, Lyons says that she is excited to be organizing it yet again.

Lyons says that the event will be set up in the style of a market, with a wide variety of local vendors at the event. Although each vendor will be unique from one another, they will all be selling items that are related to and bring awareness to mental health and the importance of self-care.

“Vendors will have things surrounding mental health, whether it be like things that make like wine glasses with cute little things on it, or just different self-love stuff, and all that kind of good things,” Lyons tells Huddle.

Lyons says that she had started the Mental Health Awareness Market and Fundraiser after wanting to not only help support mental health organizations in a general manner, but wanting to see the difference that she is making herself.

“I wanted to do something more tangible, something that I guess I could see for myself the difference that was being made in the mental health community,” she says.

This year, Lyons says that they had to upgrade their venue after the outcome from the previous year. Before, it was held in Lyons’ local store in Oromocto, but this year it will be held at the Capital Winter Club in Fredericton, with hopes that they will need an even bigger venue next year.

“It’s just nice seeing a community come together for mental health, something that’s stigmatized and not talked about enough,” says Lyons.

Present at the event there will be local vendors that do things such as permanent jewelry, clothing vendors, book vendors, food vendors, and even local tattoo artists Soulful Ink Tattoos and Owen Reist Tattoos. Having a local shop herself, Lyons will also be present with items from her mental health line from Simply Rose Boutique.

Along with the variety of vendors, Lyons says that there will be different draws, baskets, and a silent auction. 100% of the profits from these and from Lyons own shop, as well as a portion from all other vendor sales, will be put towards jumpstarting The Mental Health Box, a non-profit mental health organization that Lyons has been working on launching.

RELATED: Fredericton Boutique to Start Non-Profit Mental Health Organization

The Mental Health Box is a non-profit organization that works to provide physical boxes of mental health awareness and self-care products to those who need it most. People can order the boxes for themselves, a friend, or even a stranger, and with each box purchased another will be donated to a local women’s shelter, youth home, or medical department that The Mental Health Box is partnered with.

With the funds raised from the Mental Health Awareness Market and Fundraiser, Lyons aims to officially kickstart The Mental Health Box. She says that it will help get the first load of mental health boxes packed and distributed to women’s shelters, youth homes, mental health wards, and other local centres that may benefit from them.

Being held on Sunday June 25th from 9:00AM to 4:00PM, Lyons says the event is free for everyone to enter. There will be something to do for everyone in attendance, both kids and adults.

“Everybody is going to be there all day, so it’s kind of an all-day thing, people can come and go as they please,” says Lyons.

With last year being extremely busy, Lyons hopes to see everyone yet again, with even more people this time around.

Ryley Roach is a Huddle student intern, based in Fredericton. Send her your feedback and story ideas: [email protected]