Timing is probably one of the things Joan Douillard loves most about the Easter Festival in Williams Lake.
“It brings people out, especially after winter,” she said. “Our winters have changed but they are still kind of long.”
People come out from under their rocks, she suggested with a chuckle.
“It makes me smile and when it’s over I have such a hoarse throat from talking with people."
Joan and her daughter Jazmyn Lyons, also a city councillor, own The Realm of Toys and The Nerd Room. For several years they have coordinated the Easter Festival in downtown Williams Lake inviting vendors to participate with them.
Sometimes the weather has been cold and one year they were forced to cancel because of the wind. Last year they turned it into a spring festival and held it in May, coinciding with the Lakers Car Club Show and Shine.
This year they decided because Easter was later in April they could return to having it on Easter Sunday.
“There’s very little happening for Easter and even if you are not a religious person, people remember the Easter bunny and the kids just love it. We don’t have a hunt, but we always have an Easter bunny and there is chocolate.”
Born in Edmonton, her family moved a lot and she mostly grew up in the Okanagan.
She and her husband Richard, whose family has been in the Okanagan for 100 years, permanently moved to the Williams Lake area in 2005. Richard’s work had brought them to the area a couple of times before that.
Today Richard works for a contractor at the Gibraltar Mine tailings pond.
Before going into business with Jazmyn, Joan had a hairdressing salon in their home near Dugan Lake called Joanie’s Chop Shop.
“Jazzy saw a bookstore for sale and asked if I wanted to go into business with her. I said, ‘why not, it’s time for a change.’”
They purchased the Book Bin on First Avenue South in 2013 and changed the name to 1st Editions Books and Toys. Eventually Sandy Fehr from Wise Owl Toys asked them if they wanted to carry on with her toy store on Oliver Street.
“It was bright and colourful and we said ‘sure,'" Joan recalled.
Fehr helped them get started by introducing them to some of the companies she had worked with.
As she's watched their business evolve, Joan said your imagination is the only thing that can stop you from going further with it.
“We’ve got the gaming room now, but we’ve kept the toys as well. It’s something that can expand.”
The work keeps her young because she enjoys being exposed to little children all the time. Seeing some of their customers grow up and bring their own children in is a bonus too.
"I like the atmosphere too because generally you are dealing with happy people all of the time.”
Even though times can be difficult, children are eager to share a smile.
“We get people that are my age who come in and just giggle because of their own memories," Joan suggested. "We try to keep some of the older style of toys in stock. I think most toys are bought with heart and memory.”
The giggling can be contagious and often she and Jazmyn cannot resist giggling themselves.
“Back in my day we didn’t have quite as many toys," she said when asked if she remembered a favourite toy. "I was the oldest of four kids and I had a doll. It was dressing up that doll and using my imagination that I had fun with. I was more artsy like Jazzy."
As an adult she enjoys building things, something she did as a child with her siblings and their building toys.
“Richard, Jazmyn and myself - we built that store. I love house designing too."
When she’s not working she enjoys riding behind her husband on his motorcycle. They love Prince Edward Island and hope to travel there more.
Joan described Williams Lake as more down to earth, something she loves about the region.
“I like the people here. They are hard-working and dedicated. You could be sitting beside someone who is a multi-millionaire and you wouldn’t know it.”
She also feels there is a chance for progress in the Cariboo where people can get ahead.
“It’s a different kind of beauty here too. I like the rural aspect and the promise.”
