Beets, Beats, and Eats Market Meeting

Thank you to everyone who attended the BB&E market wrap up at Ken's Coney this morning. Your input is valuable! The plans for next year are well on their way already.

Debbie has decided to end the season with the rain out. It was a very good season. September 12th was the only market night that had to be canceled. All the fun will start again next June. Debbie chose a raffle ticket for our last market bag. The winner will be able to pick up the bag at the Village of Ortonville offices.

Here is a re-cap of the 2008 farmers market season. It ran for 13 weeks starting June 13th, every Friday from 6pm-9pm. Approximately 250 pp attended each night. A special event or theme happened each market night. The themes best at attracting the most people were Kids nights, Bike night, and Pet night. Beets, Beats, and Eats attracted 40 vendors. The vendor count ranged from 4 - 15 vendors in one night. The market bags raffled each night were very popular. Finally, everyone agreed Debbie did a great job managing the 2008 season.

The market committee plans to offer Market Bags to local retailers to sell. I plan to e-mail newsletters to all DDA businesses and market vendors. Before next year, the committee plans to analyze all portions of the program - the market, the food service, and the music - for further improvements. The committee will also look into purchasing tables and chairs for next year. Considerations for storage of the equipment will also be discussed.

Personally, I loved spending Fridays nights in Crossman Park. My children played and talked with their friends. We enjoyed the different dinner vendors who came to serve the market dinner. And, we enjoyed the different themes Debbie planned for each night.

I'd love to hear what you think. Would you like to comment on this blog? Hurray! Please let us know what you like and please tell us what you would like to see done differently. If you can be kind, thank you. The market is run primarily by volunteers and I don't want them to feel beat up or unappreciated.