Camp Garagona is getting set to host the second edition of its Christmas market at Le Grammar School in Frelighsburg running this month. 

Camp Garagona is a summer camp for adults living with an intellectual disability and/or an autism spectrum disorder. The non-profit organization also offers a day service program throughout the year that gets campers involved in a variety of activities. 

The idea of Camp Garagona holding its own Christmas market came about last year after much discussion with those that attend the day service program. The Club des Personnes Handicapées de Farnham et MRC Brome-Missisquoi also took part in the market.

With last year’s success, Camp Garagona has decided to bring the market back Dec. 17-18 to share the creativity of its campers and to be a part of all things community. 

“We had this idea to take all of their creative ideas and maybe direct them into a certain place. It was around Christmas time and what not so we decided to create a Christmas market of our own,” said Nicholas Gardner, head of the day service program. 

Every item sold at Camp Garagona’s Christmas market is made by the hands of its campers. At the market shoppers will find soaps, candles, Christmas cards, Christmas gift tags, and much more. Every dollar made goes towards supporting Camp Garagona. 

“The prices are chosen by the clients, everything. There is not a single thing that a neuro-typical person, like myself, may have had any type of influence; other than possibly the cds. I burned the cds I will admit,” joked Gardner. 

Gardner explained that it’s important to include “people from all walks of life in every situation possible,” making the Christmas market, amongst other activities that Camp Garagona takes part in, crucial.  

“A lot of the time, our clients sit at home, they watch television, and that’s their day. (…) They’re putting on their own market, what’s the next step? That’s what we’re always thinking of,” he noted. 

Most recently, Camp Garagona took part in helping community organization Vitalité Frelighsburg create a haunted forest in the village for the public to enjoy. 

“It’s small little things like that that the community is having us be a part of. For the longest time I think that we were just Camp Garagona, we were the summer camp. We still are the summer camp of course, but the goal for the day service is outreach. We want to be a part of everything, always, and we want the clients to be able to choose exactly that. They control this whole day service,” explained Gardner. 

Gardner said that he hopes Camp Garagona will have the opportunity to partake in other activities to help make clients feel that they are a part of their community. 

“That’s something that’s been missing from their lives forever. That’s something that you and I could never understand. It’s something that only they can understand and explain in their own way. People that control society, or the people that decide what happens in and around the world, I think it’s really important to lend an ear to these folks and to give them the chance to do whatever it is they want to do,” he emphasized.

With the Christmas market being one of the activities clients enjoy, it’s back for round two. The Club des Personnes Handicapées de Farnham et MRC Brome-Missisquoi will also be there alongside Camp Garagona on Dec. 18. 

“It was wild last year, it was really great. There was some unbelievable things that came from that. People gave incredible donations to the camp and that provides material for us to be able to run. (…) It’s not about the money, it’s never about the money, but we have to keep in mind sometimes that the camp does run on the gracious donations of the public. Last year was an incredible hit, we had all sorts of people come out,” mentioned Gardner. 

To learn more about Camp Garagona and the upcoming Christmas market, visit the organization's website. 

Listen to the full interview below: