Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market

Here’s a quick mention of the Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market over at “Best House in the Room” - Our Local Farmers’ Market.

“Our town had its weekly farmers’ market today. What fun it is so see so many people downtown milling around enjoying each other’s company and the bounties of our local farmers. One block is closed off to traffic and stalls line both sides of the street with vendors selling a variety of things. There are a few people selling baked goods, bread, muffins, cakes and pies. Another family sells homemade scented candles and lotions…”

We had great weather and lots of steady traffic at Week 5 of the Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market this past Saturday. Sales were up by about 20% and we were at maximum capacity, with a record-high 18 vendors occupying all of our 20 spaces. We might be able to squeeze in one or two more vendors before we have to investigate expanding. Sales for our Breakfast Vendor, the Market Grill and Creamery, were higher than last week as the word got out about the hot sandwiches and Market-made ice cream. Most of our other vendors did as well or better than last week.

Vendors: The Map for week 6 (July 21) is up. The Earth’s Center and Soul Creations won’t be joining us for week 6 and the Market Grill and Creamery may not be there due to a prior commitment. Also, one of our Nashville Farm’s folks was on the cover of the Dayton Daily News last week! If you get a chance, stop by for an autograph.

Market Meeting: There will be a meeting on Wednesday for members of the Market staff and anyone interested in helping out with the Market. We’re getting pretty busy, so any help would be greatly appreciated - we need help with planning and organization as well as on Saturday mornings with setup, traffic control and breakdown. [digg=http://digg.com/offbeat_news/Tippecanoe_Farmers_Market_Sales_Up_in_Week_Five] The meeting will be held Wednesday, July 18th at 5pm at the Tipp City Chamber offices located at 12 S. Third Street. If you are interested in volunteering but can’t make the meeting, send us a note at visittippcity@yahoo.com.

The Market did well on July 7th. It was not as busy as the week before, the weekend of the Antiques and Artisans Show, which was to be expected as that week was our busiest ever. For the first time, all of our Vendor spaces were taken - an amazing accomplishment for a first-year Farmers’ Market, and in only our fourth week. Moving forward, all of our spaces are spoken for and we are fielding weekly inquiries from new vendors interested in selling at the Market, so the Market Committee will put our heads together and plan for the future. For next week, business should be strong on July 14th as everyone’s schedules should be back to normal. The Market Map for July 14th is up on the website, so check out where everyone will be.

Also, help us welcome our newest vendor, the “Third Street Market Grill and Creamery”. They are the first vendor to prepare foods at the Market, and will be preparing fresh sausage and turkey links, along with homemade ice cream, each week at the Market. Stop by and see them! The sausage biscuits are excellent!

There are lots of photos up now on the Market - click on the “Photos” page. Andrea Nay, a local photographer, has been at the Market over the last few weeks and her gorgeous photos, along with mine, are all up on the website.

Customers
We received great feedback from customers this week, some of whom had heard our radio ads on 107.7 and 99.9 or seen our ads in the Independent Voice and Tour Great Miami newspapers. The Market was the subject of this week’s “Man on the Street” question series in the Independent Voice - four locals were asked to give feedback and advice on the Market, and they all had positive responses. Yeah! One customer told me on Saturday that the Market was “the best thing to happen in Tipp so far this year.” We also got a visit from Dayton Public Television, who shot customer and vendor interviews. I spoke to the videographer, Larry, and he’ll work on getting a tape for KIT-TV to air sometime soon. Keep those eyes peeled!

Vendors
As a reminder to our vendors, the Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market is now operating at capacity with all of our spaces taken each week, so please be sure to communicate any cancellations or problems with our staff. Also, unpaid spaces may be reassigned on a first-come, first-served basis, so make sure you’re paid up with Matt.

Hundreds of locals and out-of-town visitors swarmed downtown Tipp City on Saturday to enjoy the Antiques and Artisans Day festival, which included the Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market, a classic car show, and the pancake breakfast. The largest downtown event in recent memory, the Antique and Artisans Day show saw Main Street packed with shoppers as customers browsed the antiques and collectibles vendors and visited downtown local businesses. Shoppers also enjoyed the Farmers’ Market and dozens of classic cars parked on Main between Third and the train tracks - each event was coordinated to maximize the number of visitors in the downtown. Basking in the beautiful weather, visitors and shoppers toted bags, vegetables, antiques, and all manner of items as they perused the varied collectible items and decorative products available for purchase.

The Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market had it’s largest turnout ever, as well, and added three new vendors: Nashville Farms, specializing in vegetables and produce; Woodlawn Gardens, offering produce, baked goods, and home-made birdhouses; and Downing Fruit Farms, with a large selection of items. The Market was scrambling for spaces to put their vendors as the location of the Antiques and Artisans show necessitated a relocation of the Market to free up vehicular access to the Methodist Church parking lot from Third Street. Greg Enslen, member of the Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market Committee, said that the “Market did very well and will be back in it’s regular location next week.” He also said that, with all of their major vendors now appearing at the Market, it should grow in size and popularity over the next few weeks. “We hope people will come out and see what we have to offer,” he said.