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.