Gift store open weekdays, proceeds to participants with disabilities
If you’re stuck for ideas of what to get for a loved one for Christmas or want to decorate your home in holiday style, look no further than Riverdale Place Workshop in Arborg.
Handcrafted wooden snowmen, complete with festive hats and scarves, are among the holiday creations now available at the Riverdale Place Workshop gift store in Arborg. Participants have been repurposing leftover wood from the workshop’s woodworking program into seasonal décor, including signs, minimalist Christmas trees and bird houses, with proceeds supporting programming and activities
The workshop’s participants have put their creative talents to work and made very festive signs, Christmas trees and other items using leftover pieces of wood that accumulate from the woodworking program.
Workshop manager Phyllis (Susie) Johnson said she wanted to make use of the wood scraps by turning them into something to celebrate the season. She came up with the idea of creating decorative signs and other items that they’re now selling in the gift store, which is part of the workshop building.
Workshop participants were enthusiastic about making the signs and produced quality pieces.
“Everything we’ve asked the participants to do — sand, paint — they’ve been so happy to do it. This is something different from what they’d normally do, and they really enjoyed the change,” said Johnson. “I was really pleased about that. And the staff are ecstatic to be doing this, too.”
The Christmas signs come in different sizes. There are banner-length wooden signs painted in hot red with sayings such as “it’s the most wonderful time of the year” and Santa’s face, wooden Christmas trees made in minimalist style, and snowmen created from long wood panels that include festive wooden hats and real Christmas scarves.
The workshop also has a selection of participant-made wooden bird houses, farm animals, farm buildings, playing card holders in various designs, Icelandic coffee bags and knitted items including scarves.
The workshop is a not-for-profit organization that provides vocational training and activities to adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. Overseen by a board, the workshop celebrated it’s 50th anniversary this year. It offers paid employment to its participants, some of whom work in the woodworking shop, carrying out repairs of pallets used by local industries or building picnic tables. The workshop also provides a valuable curbside recycling program for the Town of Arborg, Riverton and select locations in the Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton. It diverted over 235,000 kilograms of recyclable material from the landfill in 2023. Workshop activities include music, craft-making, dancing, social outings and special events.
“In September for Truth & Reconciliation Day, we had an afternoon tea with bannock, story-telling and guests. That was a new event this year,” said Johnson. “We have participants and staff who are Aboriginal and Métis so we honoured that day.”
The proceeds from the sale of the seasonal decorations will go straight back into supporting programming and activities for the workshop participants, she said.
The Riverdale Place Workshop’s gift store is open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The workshop is located on 111 St. Phillips Dr. at the junction of Highway 68, just west of Arborg. For more information, call 1-204-376-5584.
