I’m sitting at my table, with aching feet and a pounding headache but a full heart. Saturday was so worth the exhaustion that always hits the day after. { Okay, so I started this post Sunday morning, lost internet on Sunday night and am just finishing it now…my feet are better, as is my headache! }
The one thing I always regret is not taking more pictures. I snapped a few but once the people start rolling in….there’s no time for pictures! I always have the best of intentions, because I want to show everyone who was there and how things were set up. I didn’t even get pictures of the inside of the hall all set up! { If anyone has pictures, please send them to me!! }
On Friday night, during the set up, I drank coffee, which in turn kept me up until midnight. Then I woke up at 4 am and the wheels started turning and I couldn’t settle back to sleep. So, with 4 hours of sleep, I rolled out of bed and got ready for the day. I was at the hall by 6:30, enjoying the incredible sunrise and misty fields, in solitude. It was the perfect start to the day! It was so peaceful and beautiful.
Then Shane rolled in and there went the neighbourhood!! 😉 { Actually, he is a great help, he helped lug tables and take down tents! }
There’s always that hectic craziness of trying to set up the market, as an organizer, and set up your booth, as a vendor. I’m not sure if it’ll get any easier but I know I’ll probably not stop trying to do both….I love it. If I just organize, then I feel useless during the event. If I only go to a market as a vendor, I don’t have as much control over things as I like to have….I didn’t realize that about myself. #controlfreak
I loved that some of our vendors did demos throughout the day. Here is Rose showing people how fun and simple it is to Milk Paint! I wish I had’ve got to do some painting, too! Snippets also did a needle felting demo, I saw kids wearing the little badges they felted, so sweet! { And thank you, Ruth, for doing one with Lena later in the day – she loved it!! }
And the food truck – Taco Stiles. That was a huge draw. Guys came to the market, solely for the food truck. And Taco Stiles did not disappoint. Every dish I saw go by looked incredible. I may have eaten two different types….their Fish Taco, yum! And then their dessert taco – Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Taco, even yummier. I can’t even wait until my next Taco!! And I would like to say that these weren’t mine….I stopped people walking by…..I hope I didn’t drool on them…..
Guys, the thing about this market is that it was waaaaay out in the boonies. In a tiny, rural community hall with a tin ceiling, wainscot walls and the best old dance floor in the county. And people took a gamble on showing up. Not only the market-goers, but the vendors, too. And, I hope, that gamble paid off. That the hard work Rose and I put into it paid off. That people will believe that awesome stuff happens in the country. That the little guys have awesome stuff to offer, yes, it may look different that what you’d expect, presented in this way, but there is nothing like the sense of community that happened this Saturday at that tiny hall in Meadowville. The parking lot was full, and the cars lined the road in either direction. This road has never had that kind of traffic on it….well….ever!
So, I’d like to say THANK YOU!! Thank you in believing in what we set out to accomplish for the makers and those who support these makers. Thank you for driving those extra miles. Thank you for putting your hard earned money into the hands of the little guys, those small business owners. It does make a difference so thank you.
To be continued,
Lori
