Become a Mr. or Mrs. Fix It

City of Charlottetown holding a Fix It Fair on Saturday, March 10

A Fix It Fair is coming to Charlottetown to help connect residents with community resources, teach practical repair skills and provide opportunities to learn about different ways to practice sustainability.

The fair will be held at Murphy’s Community Centre, Richmond Street, on Saturday, March 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This free event will include a repair café, workshops, demonstrations, information booths and more.

Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee said last year’s inaugural event was a big success, explaining that more than 120 household items were repaired, reducing waste that may have normally gone to a landfill.

The feature element of the fair is the repair café, which is a concept that communities throughout North America and Europe are embracing. It will include fixers with a variety of expertise who have volunteered their services to assist in the free repair of various household items throughout this event. The role of the fixers is not only to repair broken items but to share knowledge so participants can perform similar repairs at home. Participants can bring in one item per person for repair, such as a small appliance or item of clothing, and skilled on-site fixers will do the work free of charge.

“Our goal for this event the first time around was to start to shift the mindset that everything is disposable and I think we’re seeing that,’’ said Deputy Mayor Mike Duffy, chairman of the city’s environment and sustainability committee.

Duffy added there have been a number of private repair cafes held since the first Fix It Fair. In addition, a tool library has been established for people interested in trying to do their own repairs.

Anyone looking to bring a household item to be repaired, limit one item per person, can register their item at https:// citycharlottetown.wufoo.eu/ forms/zye0kld1gir3ni/

The city is also looking for people with repair skills for all kinds of household items, including clothing, small household appliances, electronics, jewelry and more. For more information, call 902-566-5548 or email jbrown@charlottetown. ca.

As part of the Fix It Fair there will be free hourly workshops that will cover a broad range of topics related to sustainability. A further announcement with workshop details, including how to register, will be made in the coming weeks.

“Our goal for this event the first time around was to start to shift the mindset that everything is disposable, and I think we’re seeing that.’’ Deputy Mayor Mike Duffy