What started as a way for a young Aldergrove boy with autism to build life skills with the help of his mom turned into a popular community market.
Liam鈥檚 Market, run by Liam and his mom, Kerry Day, began in July 2024 with a simple jar of homemade pickles and other baked goods.
But of course, Day and her family could not finish all the leftover goodies. So, they started their very own market, posting on her Facebook profile.
Since then, the North Otter mother and son duo can鈥檛 keep up with the demand.
Now, more than a year later, the two are selling freshly made items including cinnamon buns, chocolate chip cookies, cranberry scones, and a special salsa.
And yes, Day confirmed that the cranberry-orange scones taste exactly like the ones previously discontinued from Starbucks.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unbelievable,鈥� said Day. 鈥淲hen we make the salsa, we have to do five batches at a time, and it鈥檚 gone before the market even starts. People pre-order it now.鈥�
Day first fell in love with baking, watching her mother and grandmother in the kitchen.
Her mother, who was later diagnosed with cancer, eventually found herself too sick to continue the recipes.
Day鈥檚 mother would always be the one to make birthday cakes for the family. But on Liam鈥檚 first birthday, Day鈥檚 mother was too sick, and she had to step up.
鈥�'You鈥檙e going to have to do it,鈥� and I remember thinking, 鈥業 can鈥檛 do this,鈥欌�� said Day. 鈥淏ut it turned out fantastic.鈥�
The cake was a giant Mickey Mouse-themed chocolate and vanilla cake with ganache filling.
Day鈥檚 passion for baking grew from that point on. When Liam was 18 months old, Day's mother passed.
Many of the recipes Day went on to make with Liam came from Day鈥檚 late mother or his great-grandmother.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of nice that we鈥檙e keeping my mom alive by sharing her recipes with the community,鈥� Day said. 鈥淚t's a healing process even for me when I see people coming back and just loving the recipes that she used to make for me as a kid.鈥�
Day said Liam, who has limited speech, has grown more confident through the market experiences. During the winter holidays, the teen worked hard to prepare Christmas variety boxes.
鈥淢y initial goal was to get Liam to learn how to clean, cook, measure, learn different ingredient names,鈥� she said, 鈥淎nd it worked.鈥�
Day has had valuable discussions about autism with community members at the market.
The market experiences have opened up opportunities for Day to gently educate people about autism.
鈥淣ow I'm also teaching the community how to respond and how to treat people with different abilities,鈥� she said.
Liam will be holding another market on Aug. 8. Day and he plans to do Christmas boxes again this year.
Community members can look out for Liam's Market posts on the North Otter Community Page on Facebook.
