Farmers’ Market Musings
A friend of mine asked me a while ago, “What’s it like running a farmers' market? I mean, how hard can it be???”. I told him it was not the hardest job I’d ever had but it was far from easy. The easiest part of my job is the five hours the Millbrook Famers Market is open each Saturday. Setup starts around 7 am and two hours never seems to be enough time to get everything ready to welcome our friends in the Millbrook community to the market. Tear down always seems faster than set up, but at that point you are tired, having already been up and working for more than 8 hours, and still, there is always more to be done. The morning is filled with vendors arriving and doing their thing. There is an air of anxiousness for me as we strive to have another successful day at the farmers market. From hoping that the vendor who is scheduled but has not arrived will make it in time, looking for a Band-Aid for someone who cut themselves setting up a tent, finding an extra power cord for the vendor who forgot one, to worrying about how the wind is blowing today and maybe someone needs extra weight to hold the tent, to being concerned about having enough change, that cup of coffee you started with is now gone cold and tepid. Or the biggest problem, someone left their car in the lot and we need to set up around it. Once the market starts, I watch the customers and keep an eye on what’s happening, keeping track of the foot traffic with my pocket counter. Towards the end of the market, I’ll touch base with the vendors to see how their day has gone and collect some vendor fees. So, from 9 am to 1 pm each Saturday, my role is to step back and let the market do its thing. However, the real work occurs during the week.
I once thought to myself that running a farmers' market is like putting on a show or an event. You are making sure the players will be there, the logistics are ready, people are invited, the event is advertised, and praying the whole time for a good weather day. Every step along the way something can occur that you need to deal with or make adjustments to accommodate the unexpected. This can be anything from dealing with a sudden vendor absence, the weather challenges, a competing event the same day, or as occurred last year a sudden illness on the morning of the market where I had to go to the emergency room that morning and my wife was quickly drafted into heading to the market and running it in my place. In the end, just like a show – the market must go on! Rain or shine, with or without me, we all expect the market to be there each Saturday. And my job at the end of the day is to make sure every Saturday morning from the end of May till the end of October the market is up and running.
The other point I would make is that no two markets are ever the same. The previous week could have been a bust and this week it’s a real success. Sometimes the crowd is slim but they are all buyers and sales are brisk. Another week’s it is crowded with people but they are the lookers, people out for a walk but not interested in buying that week. Some weeks there are guest vendors who are new and other weeks it’s all our seasonal regulars. I’m never really sure as the day starts how the day will go, but as long as the tents are up, the vendors in place and the market is open for business then I’ve done all I can do.
By midafternoon on Saturday, I’m home the truck unloaded and time for a cold beverage and to bask in the glory of what was hopefully a good market day. Or spend some time trying to figure out what went wrong and why that day was a bust. Either way, it won’t matter on Sunday morning as I’ll have put the market in the past and I’ll start planning for the next market that coming Saturday.
Please stop by and say hello – I am always open to hearing what you have to say. See you Saturday and thank you for your support.
Greg
Millbrook Farmers Market Manager