Anyone still looking for the perfect Father’s Day gift can choose from a broad range of products and exciting experiences at Fitzsimmons Brewing Company’s Man Market June 9. From 12 to 6 p.m., more than 15 local artisans, craftsmen and vendors will be on-site for shopping, demos, food trucks and beer. “The Man Market is, essentially, an open, farmers’-market-style market where people can come in and look for unique, locally-made products to buy for their dads for Father’s Day,” said Pamela Jarosz, owner at operations manager at Fitzsimmons. To celebrate Mother’s Day, Fitzsimmons hosted an art show featuring a number of local creatives, but Jarosz said the Man Market is on a larger scale. The idea came as a result of a collaboration between Fitzsimmons and Derek Enns, who owns Urbane Shave Company. “He reached out to me, looking to partner on some kind of project together, and we started chatting about local entrepreneurs – and about creating a place where we could bring them all together, with their wares,” Jarosz said. “It started off with just a small idea and kind of blew up when we started reaching out to other local vendors and craftsmen, inviting them to come down.” While Jarosz said there are already plenty of markets available to vendors in the Airdrie area, they are typically geared toward products for women. The Man Market offers a different type of space, welcoming and celebrating male entrepreneurs. “What better way to do that than bring them all out to a brewery – something men already celebrate quite a bit,” she said. “This way, we can give back to the gentlemen in our community who support us and say, ‘We want to promote you as an entrepreneur, as well.’” The market is completely free, Jarosz said, and minors are welcome as long as they are accompanied by a guardian. Visitors can expect to see an interesting mix of vendors, including food trucks, handcrafted and homemade products, and entrepreneurs selling experiences like fly fishing trips. Fitzsimmons recently celebrated six months in Airdrie, after opening in November 2017 – the community’s one-and-only microbrewery. Jarosz said she is proud to be a part of Airdrie’s growing business community and aims to show it by hosting events like the Man Market. “The idea came from the thought of buying something for Father’s Day, but I think the other thing that’s important for people to take away from this experience is that we have a lot of very talented individuals in our community, who are creating exceptional brands and selling remarkable goods,” she said. “I would like people to leave with an appreciation for these valuable entrepreneurs and craftsmen and artisans.”
