Kamloops Repair Café will host another repair session in Valleyview Community Hall on October 17th from 10am to 3pm. Valleyview Hall is located at 2288 Park Drive in Valleyview.

The goals of Repair Café are to save repairable items from going to the landfill and thus reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as for our “fixers” to share their repair skills.  And, of course, repair can ease the burden on your budget: it’s cheaper than replacing needed items!  Also, there are always special things you love and really want to save.

You can bring in just about anything you can carry. Common items brought for repair include lamps, CD players, toasters, clothing, bicycles and chairs. Our volunteer fixers have a great range of skills from electrical and electronics to mechanical, sewing to woodworking, bicycle repair, and more. We even sharpen knives!  And in  the process of mending your items, we also teach repair skills that may enable you to fix things yourself.

October 17th is also International Repair Day.The International Repair Café movement was launched in the Netherlands in 2009 and there are now more than 4000 Repair Cafés in cities around the world. In 2024, the International Repair Café movement celebrated 15 years of fixing with an event at the Hague in the Netherlands. Repair Cafés from around the world—including our very own Kamloops Repair Café—sent bunting flags to enhance the celebration.

We know that October 17th is also voting day for the municipal elections. We hope that you can fit both voting and visiting the Repair Café into your day.

(Author credit: Lyn Richards)