Kelowna's Repair Cafe volunteers will fix your stuff this weekend | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Kelowna's Repair Cafe volunteers will fix your stuff this weekend

Image Credit: RDCO

Do you have something at home that’s broken and needs fixing or repair?  Really wish you could give it a new life, but you just don’t know how to go about it? Don’t put it off any longer! Bring it to the Repair Café this weekend at Okanagan College, and get it fixed at last, for free!

Hosted by the Regional Waste Reduction Office, the Repair Café runs Saturday (November 5th) from 10am until 2pm at the brand new Trades Building at Okanagan College on KLO Road. Fueled entirely by volunteer fixers, the event is free to the public, as is parking on site for the day.

Waste Reduction Facilitator Rae Stewart with the Regional District says this is a great way for people to get more use out of their items, and save them from landfilling.” It’s a revival of the whole culture of repair, reuse and re-purpose.  Given the popularity of the three previous events we’ve hosted, it seems to be something many of us have a real appetite for these days!”

New for the November 5th event, thanks to partners Electro Recycle, you are invited to come for a free bbq lunch for bringing in a small appliance to be fixed or recycled. It if can’t be fixed, you’ll be able to recycle your small appliance or power tool right there.

Stewart adds volunteers are the backbone of these Repair Cafés. “It’s a simple concept. We bring together those with the knowhow to fix everyday items such as small appliances, bikes, clothing and more, with people who have items that need to be fixed. With over 20 volunteers attending this weekends’ event alone, there’s a massive array of expertise available. We couldn’t possibly host these Café’s without the dedication of these many talented craftspeople, and are terrifically appreciative of all those who generously share their time and skills!’

Stewart explains for anyone who visits a Repair Café, you should be ready to be part of the process. “We’re not looking for you to just drop your stuff off and come back later when it’s all fixed up again. We’re encouraging you to sit with the person fixing, you can either do the whole thing yourself or assist with the repair, or just observe. A big part of it is showing people they can actually repair things themselves, so empowerment is a big piece of the puzzle.”

Repair Cafés or Fix-it type events are very popular in Europe.  They started in the Netherlands in 2009, and now the idea is spreading with regular repair events in Penticton, Vernon, Calgary, Nanaimo, Edmonton and several cities across the United States.

For more info about what items you can bring for fixing to the Repair Cafe, visit regionaldistrict.com/repaircafe, email recycle@cord.bc.ca, or call the Waste Reduction Office at 250-469-6250.

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