Thank You, Thank You, Thank You and I Need Your Input
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Well, dear reader, our spring event is in the books, and you guys made it a success. We are humbled and grateful to all who took the time, made the effort, and supported our little farm event. Hands down, our farm events are my favorite live events. My vendor friends, some of whom have been in this business for more than twenty years, always comment on what a lovely group of people attends our events. You all are the magic.
My day is a blur. I spend most of the day talking, chatting, and making sure everyone has everything they need. To those of you who introduced yourselves, it was an absolute pleasure to talk with you. For those of you I missed, I'm sorry. However, a great big thank you to everyone who attended. We are so blessed to have you as part of our soap family.
There is talk of hosting monthly events on the farm. Our little soap world is rocked by the ongoing events of our favorite market. We have had to make some very difficult choices, and please know these choices were not made lightly and without many, many conversations. For our market family, it is official, we will not be attending the Ligonier Country Market this year. There are some things we are awaiting final word on, but we can't comment on that just yet. It saddens me that this is the direction things have gone. To those who are involved, I hope you are proud of yourselves for ruining what was a lovely experience for thousands of people and hundreds of small businesses. And that, dear reader, is all I will allow myself to say on the subject. Trust, I have opinions.
With that being said, I am asking for genuine input from you, my soap family. Do you think you would be interested in a monthly market, much like our twice-a-year farm events? Do you think our area could and would support such an endeavor? Would it be worth your time and our vendor friends' time? Would you like to see an expansion of goods available and vendors? My greatest fear is that I waste people's time. I know how much time and effort it takes to do a live show. For many, there would be at least an hour of travel time involved. To sit in all kinds of weather and be disappointed by crowd turnout and sales is truly painful. So, I ask you, please weigh in on the subject. There is much to do if this is going to happen, and I am genuinely interested in your input. Please comment in the comment section of the blog or message me via email or messenger. Your opinions matter a great deal to me.
I will keep you abreast of all decisions as the information becomes available. We are so grateful for all you do. For real, we could not do any of this without you. Please let me know what you think about a monthly market on the farm. Your input will have a great deal to do with our decision. Don't be shy. Be honest. I can handle it, and don't worry about offending me.
On this lovely spring day, stay safe, be smart, please share your thoughts and ideas, we appreciate you, and keep washing your hands.
12 comments
Sorry to hear that the farm market organizers are making poor decisions that are driving vendors away. This will be the downfall of a successful event. Without good vendors and support for them, eventually, the patrons stop going.
You are on point to start your own. Here are some questions to promote thoughts.
Do you have enough space on your farm to designate a permanent parking area?
Do you have enough space to designate a permanent event center?
Are the parking area and event space close together? How is the entry and egress from the main road?
The event center to start could be a large event tent. Something big enough for multiple vendors to set up inside of and still provide space for patrons. Use this for the first year to test the waters. I believe you can rent these long term and they provide shade from sun, shelter from rain and somewhat shelter from undesirable conditions. Floor could be dirt to start, then gravel. The gravel will come in handy later…
As the market takes root, upgrade the event space to an open air permanent structure. With a concrete floor. Design the structure so that electrical, walls, doors and insulation can be added later.
As the event becomes the talk of the area and successful, closing the structure so that it can run all year around regardless of weather.
I’m excited to hear how this develops. It’s a bit of a drive from Claremore, OK. But, I hear the potato salad is worth the drive.
I was sad that I couldn’t make it this past weekend. I agree with one of the comments. Bi- monthly or quarterly and see how things go. I have a feeling ALOT of people are upset and angry with the Country Market
I agree with trying out quarterly markets to discover if the area is able to support such an endeavor. I am originally from near your area, (living in Pgh South Hills now),and I regularly attend the Greensburg Night Market. I was so delighted to see you there at the opening!! It’s not a hard drive to attend that market from Pittsburgh. I look forward to sniffing all of your soaps nd finding new favorites! Wash on!!
I don’t know what’s going on with Ligonier Country Market, but had hoped to see you there this summer. So sorry to hear that they are making unwelcome changes. I’m living in Pittsburgh now, so your farm feels a little too far for a day trip😢, but haven’t ruled it out. Thank goodness you’re on-line, so I have seen many photos!
I am always sad when I am unable to attend one of your events as was the case this past weekend. I would welcome more opportunities in the future.
Best wishes to you all always. 😊