Indoor market with vendors and shoppers in a brick-walled hall decorated with flags and arched windows.
Illustration of a smiling orange triangle and a blue circle, both with happy facial expressions, set against a black background.

The New Venture Marketplace

The New Venture Marketplace is our flagship event. It’s an annual craft, art, food and music market designed to support and remove barriers for new entrepreneurs, and create community.

Values of the New Venture Marketplace

  • Accessibility

    We prioritize accessibility in the New Venture Marketplace each year. We work with vendors individually to make accommodations so everyone is comfortable and welcomed.

  • Equity

    We prioritize vendors who are new to entrepreneurship, specifically those that are African Nova Scotian, Mi’kmaq, newcomers, people living with a disability, those living with mental illness and youth.

  • Community

    We work to create a space that is family friendly, safe, and fun for all. Our vendors are given opportunities to connect with one another, and with the wider community.

Why the Marketplace?

Not all markets are built equal.

The New Venture Marketplace exists to strip barriers that entrepreneurs face when participating in local markets. Many markets charge high table fees, and may not prioritize accessibility and community. Our markets are always free for the vendors, and for the public.

We’re dedicated to something simple - uniting and investing in our community.

Hand making an OK gesture with the thumb and index finger forming a circle, other fingers extended upward.
Close-up of a hand wearing a white glove holding a small medal or keychain, with colorful items and cloths laid out on a table in the background.
Several bottles of Sweet & Savory Soy Sauce with chicken label, featuring a cartoon chicken holding a soy sauce bottle, surrounded by Christmas decorations, on a store shelf.
A woman with braided hair wearing glasses and an orange, green, and yellow patterned face mask, a yellow patterned top, and large decorative earrings, sitting indoors with blurred background.
Person displaying multiple sets of colorful rings in a jewelry box, surrounded by a string of lights.
Young boy standing behind a table displaying several colorful landscape paintings, inside a room with brick and white walls.
Colorful fabric wallets with various geometric patterns and clasps, displayed on a table at a market stall.

2019

We saw a need for a market to compliment an existing ISANS program, so we hosted 6 immigrant vendors in Dalhousie’s student union building.

Image of a modern indoor cafe with large glass windows, hanging pendant lights, and wooden ceiling panels. Customers are seated at tables, working or socializing, with a counters area on the left side.

In early 2020 we expanded our market to include anyone who was a new vendor, and hosted 36 vendors in the Halifax Brewery Market.

Indoor craft fair with numerous vendors and shoppers, brick walls with arched windows, flags hanging from the ceiling, and a sign reading 'North Arcade' above an arched doorway.

2020

Amidst the pandemic, we cemented our vision, safely hosting another incredibly successful winter market, with over 380 attendees.

People shopping at a New Venture Market, Christmas market stall, with a woman in a red sweatshirt and Christmas headband, and others wearing face masks.

2021

Sponsored by Build Nova Scotia, we hosted an innovative summer market, which was joined by musical performances, and over 1000 attendees.

People gather around a booth set up on a dock with a welcome sign, with boats and buildings in the background during the New Venture Marketplace Summer Market, in Halifax, NS.

2022

Woman with wavy blonde hair and a blue face mask sitting at a table with artwork on display, Christmas tree with lights in the background.
Two women browsing colorful handcrafted accessories at outdoor market near boats
A clear glass bowl of milk with colorful cereal mini-puffs and unlit candles floating on top, with a spoon inserted into the bowl.
Clothes hanging on a rack at a store, including camouflage jackets, a pink tie-dye hoodie, and other clothing items.
A woman wearing a face mask and a blue shirt with a black vest is looking at jewelry on display at a market stall.
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Support Us

We are always seeking new partners who want to share time, funds, food or any other opportunities with our vendors.

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Contact Us