Another Christmas market affected after organizer loses vendor deposits to gambling

A second holiday market in Waterloo Region has been impacted after the organizer lost vendor deposits through gambling.

Shopalooza, scheduled for Nov. 19 at the Hespeler Legion Branch 272, was the second market cancelled by event planner Stacy Cliff.

Cliff's other event, the It’s Christmas Market at Bingemans on Nov. 12 was also called off, leaving the 200 vendors who signed up for it scrambling.

In the case of Shopalooza, vendors and the legion have come to an agreement that will allow the market to go ahead without Cliff’s involvement for a lower cost.

In a Facebook post, Cliff wrote that the events were cancelled because she lost the deposits made by local vendors. In an interview with CTV News last week, Cliff confirmed she lost the money through gambling.

Debbie Mills, a vendor who was registered to take part in Shopalooza, decided to take over the planning process.

She learned the market had been cancelled when her friend sent her Cliff’s Facebook post.

“She texted me and said ‘have you seen this? I hope you’re not involved,’” Mills said. “And sure enough, I was involved.”

Stacy Cliff talks to CTV News during a past market. (File photo/CTV Kitchener)

As she learned more about the situation, Mills said it rubbed her the wrong way.

“I rolled it around in my head for a couple of days and then I said ‘you know what, we’ve got to make this right.’”

“I started making the phone calls and tried to put it all back together.”

Mills posted on Facebook asking original vendors from Shopalooza to contact her if they were still interested in going ahead with the market for a small entry fee.

She said she believes the majority of the original vendors have signed back up, but she can’t be certain because she doesn’t have a list to go off of.

She has asked vendors for proof of their payment to Cliff to ensure the original businesses are prioritized. Those payments ranged from $50 to $205.

“I’m not sure what she was charging for,” Mills said, adding it shouldn’t have been that much.

Now, Mills and the legion are charging vendors $10 to enter the market in order to cover the cost of the room.

Max Dyke, the event coordinator at the Hespeler Legion, said they held the room for the vendors after Mills came to them and explained the situation.

“In turn, she would repay me for the cost of the hall when she collected the money. I didn’t want them losing more than what they’d already lost,” Dyke said.

Dyke said it wasn’t Cliff who had booked the room for Shopalooza. He said it was a man who they now believe worked with Cliff. He said the legion never received any payment or contract agreements from Cliff or anyone else involved in the original market.

“I maintained the hall because originally, I’d had contact with three or four different people who had booked the hall for the same situation and everything was fine,” Dyke said.

Despite high demand for event space this year, Dyke said he held the space for the vendors because he felt it was the right thing to do.

“The people were duped. It was just human I guess, to allow them to try and get back part of what they had lost. That’s my only reasoning,” Dyke said.

The market, now branded as the Christmas Craft Market, will take place on Nov. 19 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hespeler Legion Branch 272.