Entrepreneurship is thriving at the Port Coquitlam Farmer's Market.
Vendors as young as 12 are bringing in the customers for delicious treats, such as lemonade and meringues, and the profits are helping them make plans for their future.
One thriving booth is run by Vassilina Kazarina, 12, who is in Grade 7 at Pitt River middle school. Her delicate, puffy meringues were snapped up by young and old alike on Thursday.
She's been selling approximately 300 meringues a week at the market, which take her all day to make, and she has saved a considerable sum she hopes to spend on a trip to Paris one day.
"I saw the farmer's market and I thought, I want to participate in this," says the Port Coquitlam girl who lives near by the market.
Her mom gave her the idea of making meringues and she's been making them ever since, purchasing the materials with the money she makes.
"Some customers come every single week to buy my meringues," said Kazarina, who was born in Russia and moved to Canada in 2005.
It's been a lot of work, but worth it, and Kazarina plans to come back to the market again next year, perhaps with different coloured meringues and more flavours.
But for now she's content to keep making her best sellers.
There are four more market days, including tomorrow, Sept. 6. Upcoming themes include heirloom recipes, Sept. 6, zucchini racing on Sept. 13, apple pie contest Sept. 20 and food bank day Sept. 27. The market runs 3-7 p.m. on Thursdays at Leigh Square.
