On May 8th, the Vancouver Farmers Markets will be kicking off its summer season. It seems really early to me – not because we don’t have the requests to start early from both shoppers and vendors -but because I’m currently deep in the middle of allocation and scheduling and approving new vendors and May 8th seems so close! Good luck to our Vancouver Market friends!
I frequently get asked if I feel that other market organizations are competition and I prefer to think of all the other markets as similar teams running the same marathon. We all have our own goals but we sure can train together. It’s great to connect with other markets during this planning stage and share and learn from one another. Whenever I can, I like to visit other markets and see what’s working for them. RCFM is a relatively new organization – this will only be our third summer season – and there is much to learn!
Our summer season returns to Tipperary Park on June 10th from 3-7. We’re pleased to be starting earlier and adding two extra weeks to our season, bringing it to a total of 18. This year we are planning as many kids activities as possible, and we’ll continue to have music at every market. We’ll also going to introduce a few new things this year, one of which is at least two Member Appreciation Days where organization members will get discounts and deals and special offers from participating vendors.
One this is for sure, this is going to be a fantastic season! We asked you last year what you wanted us to improve and we appreciate all the feedback. Many of you felt that there were more than enough craft fairs in the area, and wanted to see more food vendors, so we are increasing the food vendors to 90% of the market, and allocating only 10% to arts and crafts. We’re shooting for 50-60% fresh food vendors at each and 30-40% prepared goods. We’re also going to work hard to bring a greater variety of community groups and services to the market so that you can check out the great work non-profits are doing to help improve New Westminster. We will still operate Art in the Park (and are looking for artists who are interested in our open air free art gallery) and continue to bring you a great community event each week.
Stay tuned for info about our 3rd Annual Fundraiser!
