Photo: Facebook/Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce

Creative Chaos returned in a big way over the weekend.

The event saw about 15,000 people attend, says organizer Ingrid Baron.

“Oh, it was right back to normal, if not better,” says Baron.

“We don't charge at the door .. so we don't count, but I don't know, I'm gonna say around 15,000.”

The artisan fair is hailed as the largest in Western Canada, and is one of the biggest events on the Vernon calendar. It takes place annually on the first weekend of June.

Chaos was cancelled two years in a row in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. It returned in 2022, but Baron says there were still COVID restrictions and hesitation around gatherings.

Travel restrictions in 2022 meant the event didn’t have as many vendors as normal, but this year things were back to normal – or even better.

“One thing I noticed is the creativity ... I think everybody got a little creative during COVID and came up with some pretty neat things. So yeah, there was lots of really unique products,” says Baron.

This year also saw a record 14 food trucks come out.

Baron said it was exciting to have a bit of everything.

The final amount raised for the food bank has yet to be tallied, but Baron expects a pretty good total.

“Hopefully, I'll get that maybe today or tomorrow, but it looked like the kettles were full all the time,” says Baron.

She’s thankful for all the people who came out to support the event and the volunteers who made it happen.