The idea of a market of sorts at Jake's Hometown Liquor was started last summer. It was to be held on Wednesdays in the afternoon. A few attempts were made, but by the time it started up, I was already committed to the Dennison Market, so I never did get over there. I know there were some rainy days, too, just like this year. What is it about Wednesdays that brings the rain?
Anyway, I got a hold of Amy this spring and we talked about it again, and decided it was a go. A few vendors showed up the first week, despite the heat, and with the rain winning at the end, but it was a start! The next week, same thing... a few new vendors, lots of heat, and again, rained out at the end. The next few weeks were really hot, but we survived the heat, and the rain left us alone. The past 2 weeks, the rain won, and nobody showed, for obvious reasons.
So, the idea here is that our community has something all its own that is a bit different than the other places that have things, like Pizza Night at Berne, or Kenyon Craft and Produce Market. Consistency is important so that people know that they can come and look for foods and treasures on Wednesday, barring the weather. We are sticking to it as we can, and we look forward to growing with more vendors and lots of customers. Today I want to share a story of success in our attempt to bring you down to the market.
The second night that we had Anything Goes, our youngest vendor so far, Will Amundson, age 9, showed up with his project he hoped to sell.....fishing lures! I introduced myself, and said I hoped he sold out. A few of the vendors came to meet him, and one of them bought the first one. I then told him I would help out a little with his sales, and went to the Liquor Store and asked Scott if he would send his customers over to take a look at Will's lures, which were designed with beer bottle tops, because in my mind at least, beer goes well with fishing! And thanks to Scott, Will sold out of "Willures" that first day. And then it got even more interesting!
I posted a picture of Will at his table , and someone saw it on Facebook. She made arrangements with Will to meet him at JB's to give him her collection of bottle caps. Will had talked to Barney Nesseth earlier about saving the bottle caps for him, so it has been his "pick up" point.That went down well, and now Will gets bottle caps from folks at JB's on a regular basis! The point of this story is that it only takes a little effort and some collaborating for something as small as a town market to bring the right people together to make a difference in someone's life. And it's recycling at its finest!
I encourage everyone to come to see us on Wednesday, either to sell some treasures you may have, or to find something special to purchase for yourself. Bring some friends and have some fun! We are working on having food trucks and hoping for some musicians to join in, for fun, or to sell their CD's. Anything Goes is called that for a reason, If you have it, and no longer need it, bring it down and sell it! Anything Goes!!!
