Farmer's Market, Art Walk hopes to be bigger, better this year

SHOW LOW – The Show Low Main Street Farmers’ Market and Art Walk faced many challenges in its first season, including high winds, continuous construction on the Deuce of Clubs, location and pricing confusion and more.

They persevered, and are back to try again.

Unique among farmers’ markets in the area, the Show Low Main Street market offers free weekly live entertainment, educational workshops and special events throughout the season. With their blended emphasis on both fresh locally grown produce and food items as well as handmade arts and crafts, market organizers say they seek to offer both locals and visitors alike a true “taste of the White Mountains.”

This year, the goals of the market are “expansion and education,” explains market manager, Justine Wintersmith

“This season we’re really looking to live up to the potential of our space and get people into the habit of coming downtown to check out what’s new each week. The idea is to give families something easy and fun to do without having to drive a long way. With the live entertainment, the artwork and crafts, the fresh, naturally grown produce that is usually priced better than what you’d see in the store, plus prepared foods for a nice picnic lunch, it’s really easy to make a day out of it and just enjoy the atmosphere. We’re really trying to add to the sense of community and offer locals and visitors alike a kind of one-stop-shopping destination for all things local.”

Regarding the market’s plans for expansion, Wintersmith says, “We’re really lucky in the fact that our location at the Festival Marketplace on the Deuce of Clubs (where the sculpture of the card players is) allows us to have 60, 10-foot by 10-foot vendor spaces with enough room to walk around on three sides. Should we have to expand further, we’ll be able to add additional vendor spaces by adopting more of a condensed layout like the Flagstaff Farmers’ Market.

“Last year we faced a lower vendor turnout than we had hoped for, due in part to our pricing structure. While it’s true we offer far more advertising on the radio, TV, the web, and in print than other markets, as well as online support and promotion for our seasonal vendors, and we actually pay for our entertainment with vendor fees, it was just too costly for the smaller backyard produce grower, so this year we’ve cut our vendor fees dramatically.”

She says this season’s market fee structure is more comparable with other local markets, and some fees can be split with a second vendor.

“We always tell vendors it’s a lot easier to set-up and tear down with two or more people, but everyone tends to lend a hand.”

Show Low Main Street Farmers’ Market & Art Walk vendors are not required to have business licenses or individual permits, but do need to have a vendor’s application in at least a week before their first market Saturday to get their name on the blanket event permit.”

All arts and crafts are juried at the market to ensure quality and that the work is handmade—no resale items are allowed, and all vendors must reside within 50 miles of the city of Show Low for at least half of the year.

This year, by popular demand, in an effort to add variety to the market’s offerings, there is a slight exception to the rule. Four produce or food-related vendors per week may participate as “guest vendors” if they offer items that cannot be produced in the White Mountains, subject to approval and a different fee schedule.

To kick things off, the second annual market poster contest will be running throughout the month of April, with awards to be given before the market’s opening in mid-May.

To learn more about the contest or vending at the market, visit their website at www.showlowfarmersmarket.com or call (928) 521-9284.