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Waterfront Market A Success! After ten weeks of strange weather and tent-wrangling, I am declaring the Waterfront Market in Liverpool a success. The Market came about when Marg Cartwright approached me as the Chair of SSAC to create an art & craft market in the brand new waterfront park. We agreed that the park needed to have activity and a draw to introduce the public to its' potential uses. An outdoor market with high quality products seemed to be just the thing. After a few weeks at the "drawing board" I had a plan that I thought could work with a bit of help from my community. I sent out letters to businesses in the area explaining my vision and asking for a $100.00 donation to purchase gazebo-style tents. Amazingly, the cheques started to arrive and in the end, ten businesses came through. I found tents and had plaques made that stated the business that sponsored them. The vendors began to sign on with the help of the local Queens County Times and other publicity and with a crew consisting of mainly my family and a couple of other generous souls, we constructed ten tents, gathered up ten tables, and the Waterfront Market was born. Every Saturday morning, our little crew would arrive in various weather to assemble the tents and return again later to take them down. The Market consisted of mainly artists and crafters with a couple of fine bakers who usually sold out. There was pottery, paintings, sewn-goods, carvings, jewellery, quilts, and more. Each week brought a new variety of goods and with the generous donation of their time, musicians livened things up considerably. Our last Saturday was particularly satisfying as we played host to a fundraiser for a little girl with diabetes. Maddison's mom, Dale Crouse is trying to raise enough funds to purchase an insulin pump to make life a little easier for two-year-old Maddison. The pumps cost around $6000.00 and Dale has been making and selling children's hats to raise funds. On Saturday, Dale arrived to sell hats and her friends and family put on a barbeque to help out. I made hand-made signs to place in high-traffic areas and we all hoped for a good turn-out. I am happy to report that they raised over $800.00 toward Maddison's pump. One gentleman from Ontario paid $120.00 for three hotdogs after reading about Maddison and her mom's determination. Lots of other folks paid ten and twenty dollars for their hotdogs. The Market would not have been possible without the help of many people and I look forward to next year as a chance to see all the new friends I have made and keep it growing as a great Saturday destination on the South Shore. --------------------------------------------------------------------- The First Day at the Liverpool Market The Liverpool Market, at the new Privateer's Park on the Waterfront, is a hit! With help from signage and flags as well as publicity, the community found us with no trouble. In fact, we were quite busy! The gazebos were a hit (although not with Liz's Dad very early in the morning as we nut & bolted...thanks Garnett & Janet), and people were very supportive. As was the weather! In spite of dire predictions, some folks came home with sunburns!
Aside from the very high quality of wares, the highlight had to be the large assemblage of South Shore Ukulele Players who serenaded us with wonderful classics. Our hearts were warmed to see a very young-at-heart, older lady, gracefully stepping in time to the music. Thanks so much to Susan Borgersen & the Players and we look forward to more performances through the summer.
Our sole baker, Karla Colp, sold out in not much more than an hour and will be back next week with more delicious goodies. Don't wait too long though! The early bird gets the pie! We welcome back our vendors from the first week plus several new faces bringing their talents to our Waterfront on the coming Saturdays. Many thanks to them and to the local businesses who made our tent purchases possible. Thanks also to Lanes who will be serving a "Market Fresh" lunch special all summer in support of our new Market. And thank-you to the many folks who came out to see us on our first day! Hope to see you and your 10 best friends every Saturday this summer!
Note from the Webmaster (well, actually, from the Webmistress): This initiative has been fueled by the energy of Liz, who has gathered sponsors, purchased and assembled tents, and has handled the myriad of details that are involved in putting together a project of this type, so .. Thank you, Liz, for putting together this very exciting opportunity for all of us!
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