Tuesdays

I'm agonizing over whether or not to commit to Tuesday Market this year. A commitment is not required, but in the past we have been able to reserve our spaces so we could start setting up before nine, when the farmers are all in and they know what space they don't need.

I understand that the farmers have to increase vendors to meet their budget, and they have a lot of new vendors who will be interested in Tuesdays because of limited space on Saturdays. So I can see why they gave us notice that they might need the spaces we were using in previous years for their own operation. While they weren't the prime spaces, they were good ones, around the fountain and in the main traffic zones. At the peak of the season we could be shuffled out to the margins, or closed out altogether.

We fit 150 vendors on the fountain block on Saturdays, so there are spaces available, but there are some issues to consider. There is a group of people who more or less live in the covered area to the west of the block, so I wouldn't want to set up there in case they don't vacate (and they haven't, in past years). I wouldn't want to set up too close to a farmers' food booth, because of the potential damage to my clothing and other items from the grilling activities, and I wouldn't want to be out in the perimeter where shoppers wouldn't go. I know I have a draw, but it isn't magnetic.

We could maybe move across the street, where people will most likely go to eat and sit comfortably, but the traffic will most likely be less that far removed from the core booths, so I might make less in sales, and Tuesday sales are already marginal. I would miss the income, and can't really afford to turn my back on it. One strategy might be to build up our part of the Market, with entertainment, maybe a food booth of our own, and start to promote it better so we draw some traffic to it independently of the farmers.

I don't know if that would be cost-effective for our market, since sales are low as it is and there isn't a budget for Tuesdays, at this late date. It starts next week. A lot depends on what our commitment is to Tuesday Market, which has been running for many years at this point, and we aren't likely to decide to drop it altogether.

And I feel that a lot depends on my personal commitment to it. I may be one of the steady sellers, since I do have bags and hats that seem to sell no matter what. I assume that my presence strengthens our market and my absence would weaken it. If I can't whip up some enthusiasm for it, I could be contributing to its demise. And I'm too involved in our community to let that be my position.

So I dunno. I'm leaning toward a stronger commitment, at least for one more year, to see if we can stabilize it and keep it growing. It hasn't been exactly thriving, due to lack of promotion, but maybe that is an area in which we can work. It doesn't necessarily have to cost money. It can be a good opportunity for some of the vendors who can't make it in on Saturdays to get started. It can be an asset to our downtown and our market experiences.

So I guess I'm committing. The next question is what I can do to make it work, besides showing up. The answer seems to be to fully commit, to be positive and supportive and flexible and cooperative with however things have to play out to ensure our success. All of us. Always take the high road. I can do that.