New event company bringing people together

January 28, 2025

By Bill Kilpatrick

Watch out Mark Zuckerberg there some new women on the event scene, and according to one of their founders, Monica Sears, they are bringing much needed feminine energy and they are “not to be messed with.” The new business is called Something Local Co Event Planning and they hoping to create more “positive female inclusive spaces,” but their events are not limited to women only, everyone is welcome at their events said Sears. Sears explained that the main purpose of Something Local is to fill some gaps, “There’s tons of things for children in terms of programming and there’s tons of things for seniors,” explained Sears, “but [for] middle aged women and people in general in our community, there’s not much for us to do. We are really enthusiastic about bringing events of significance to the community.”

The idea behind Something Local is the brainchild of three women, two business owners, Brittiany Hass who owns the Eternal Verity Co that produces permanent jewelry, Miranda Kukavica who owns the Golden Goddess an organic skin care business, and event planner Sears. Kukavica and Hass put together a ladies’ night on Dec. 13 meant to promote their new businesses, an event that Sears attended as a guest. Sears loved the vibe so much she reached out to Hass and Kukavica and after some discussions Something Local Co was born.

The business was registered as a sole proprietorship in December and the women have wasted no time putting their ideas into action, “we are very action oriented,” said Sears. The business itself is barely a month old and already they have planned and executed one event and have another two planned for February. The first event, held on Jan. 18, saw the group partner with Bancroft Community Transit to hold a candle making workshop. Over 20 people attended the event where all the materials and refreshments were provided. Those in attendance were treated to charcuterie, wine, and of course learned how to make their own candles.

The next event, called Galentines, is an adults only event that will held on Feb, 8 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Faraday Community centre on Lower Faraday Road. The event, despite being described as a “sip N shop,” will be serving only non-alcoholic refreshments, however there will still be snacks such as Charcuterie, and lots of sweets and costs $20 in advance or $25 at the door. While enjoying refreshments, people will be able to check out the 20 different vendors that will be in attendance including Naughty Kitchen Candy, Whimsical Chaos Crafts, The Crows Curio’s spiritual items, Niska Nourishes tea Co, Jodie Antle who makes naughty crochet items, and many more. Sears says that the first 30 people will get a swag bag and that there will be a professional photographer on site. The businesses in attendance are a mix of new and long-time businesses stated Sears, “Some of them will be new businesses, some of them are business that attend craft markets, and there are some that have been in business for along time and have very successful businesses, and they want to try it out.”

These events allow for businesses to connect with each other and create opportunities for their businesses to grow, “That’s huge component of it,” said Sears, “we want our vendors to mingle and to get to know each other because if we are all going to be working together in a community we want to support each other and want to be able to support your business…” One other aspect that Something Local wants is feedback from the community, “We’re trying to see what the community wants,” said Sears, “more workshops, like candle making, do they want more opportunities to socialize, [such as] a vendor market, do they want a music festival, do they want dances, do they want outdoor stuff?”

For the first year, Sears, Kukavica, and Hass plan to experiment with different events to see what works for them and the community, “We’re just going to roll with some ideas. For the first year we are going to try different things and each month we are going to bring something that we haven’t seen in our community for a while…” Sears said that she feels that because of the pandemic people want to begin to do things together again, “People want to congregate, they want to sit shoulder to shoulder, they want to feel the energy in the room, and they want to share laughs and they want that human interaction…”

Following the Galentine event on Feb. 8, the energetic and ambitious women have planned for yet another event in February on Feb. 15. They are hosting a Valentines Dance at the Mayo Community centre on Mayo Lake Rd. that will run from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tickets cost $15 in advance and $20 at the door. There will be a live D.J., dancing, snacks, door prizes and a cash bar. The women are also planning a paint night in the spring. “It’s a lot of legwork for three women,” said Sears, “but we love it.”

To purchase tickets or for more information, Something Local Co can be found on Facebook by searching their name, on Instagram at somethinglocalco, or they can be contacted by email at [email protected] or by phone at (705) 457-7336.