Escalon’s monthly Farmer’s Market wrapped up its five-month run on Wednesday, Aug. 21. Hosted by the Escalon Chamber of Commerce, the event had been staged on the third Wednesday of each month from April through August.
“We have the vendors now … the variety this year was pretty good,” Market Coordinator Megan McNinch noted on Wednesday.
She said this year was also much better in terms of the weather, with only one of the Wednesdays getting near the triple digit mark. The market was staged from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., in the city’s Main Street Park and a portion of Main Street, between First and Third streets.
Hosting the event once a month worked well for the Chamber, McNinch added, and though crowd numbers fluctuated, those that did attend found plenty to pique their interest.
“Our biggest market, we had 65 vendors, which is great,” McNinch said.
The finale on Aug. 21 saw a lower turnout, with some vendors a no show. She estimated about 35 vendor booths in total for the final night this summer.
“We always taper off at the end of the year; school’s back in, but we’re very happy with it,” she summarized. “We had a lot of great sponsors that helped us, we wouldn’t be able to do it without our sponsorships.”
Another twist that was very well received this year were the drawings; when visitors to the market made a purchase at a booth, they received a ticket to put into the prize drawing. They could choose which item to try for; all were gift certificates from participating vendors or items provided by the Chamber, such as tickets for its upcoming Wine Stroll or a VIP experience for Christmas on Main.
“I think we’re going to continue the giveaways,” McNinch said of plans for next year. “People like them and it’s a way we support our vendors. We (Chamber of Commerce) actually purchase the gift certificates from the vendors so we’re supporting them.”
The Chamber’s Wine Stroll is coming up on Saturday, Sept. 21 in the downtown area.
“We have 500 tickets, 50 VIP and we’re selling pretty fast,” said McNinch.
Then the Chamber will move on to its Harvest on Main, a Sunday, Oct. 6 celebration in the city’s Main Street Park.
There will be pumpkin carving by the adults and the kids can then decorate them; there will be a costume contest, decorated car contest, and more.
“We’re adding vendors and food, so we’re going to extend it pretty much to another Farmer’s Market,” McNinch said of bringing a ‘market’ feel to the harvest event, which will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
