Sunday, September 27, 2009

Downtown Saturday September 26

Wow, what a great day in downtown North Attleborough. The weather was perfect for the first weekend of fall, balmy and sunny. The farmer's market was rockin', I don't think we have ever been busier, so much so we all stayed for at least an hour past the normal close. Thanks to all who stopped by to buy, check it out, chat or just take a look see; come on back every saturday thru Halloween.

Saturday was a great example of a vibrant downtown, we had the farmer's market, football, library book sale and the arts fair all going on at pretty much the same time. Sure there was fair amount of traffic, but overall you could find a place to park,(free) and spend a few hours shopping, eating and being entertained. I think that is a pretty good value. In closing I would urge everyone to support your downtown and the local merchants by continuing to visit and shop there. If you can buy in downtown you are making a greater positive economic impact then if you are buying elsewhere.
As saturday illustrated so well, a busy, excited, creative downtown can be a lot of fun; let's keep it going.
David

Monday, September 21, 2009

Big Weekend coming up In Downtown 9/26

Well first and foremost there is the Downtown Farmer's Market Saturday from 9AM to Noon, but here is what else is happening:

Richards Memorial Library Annual book Sale at the Masonic Temple Friday - Saturday, check the library's web site for more info: http://rmlonline.org A great way to support a great institution and build a library of your own. It doesn't get much greener than buying used books.

The Village Artisans Collaborative is sponsoring The Autumn Arts Festival on Sat and Sun from 10AM to 4PM in Veterans Park, directly in front of town hall across from the post office. I would expect to see a wide variety arts and crafts,(think holidays!) and right now the weather looks good for both days. As always you can also visit the VAC Store in Downtown as well.

Saturday is also Pop Warner football at Community Field with games starting at 10:30AM going as late as a 7:30pm start. Along with the games there are raffles and a pretty good concession stand.

Of course there is a whole bunch of restaurants in downtown to choose from and a variety of stores that would certainly appreciate a few more shoppers.

Celebrate the first weekend of fall, by getting fresh and getting around downtown North Attleborough. Oh yeah tell your friends too!!

See ya at the market!


Sunday, September 13, 2009

Market Report Sept 12

This past Saturday was interesting, I had sent an e-mail to all on the list reminding that we would have a market Sat am as I didn't think the rain would be too bad. I woke up around 5AM to torrential rain and sighed the "Oh S*#T" when face with bad weather for an outdoor event. I watched the weather and didn't get any positive reinforcement on that front nor from the web.
Around 7:15 I called Oakdale Farms and was told that Mike was on the way, the decision made I loaded up the SUV and headed downtown. We decided to double our tents as well and modified the layout of the tables to keep what few customers I expected dry. FYI Veggies can get wet, duh!

I really didn't think we would do too much, but we were soon joined by Attleboro Farms,(with a great display of fall decor and beautiful mums), a few hours later by Nolin's Apiary, (labels don't do well in the rain). Well turned out that even in somewhat cruddy weather people come out.

Overall with the state of the weather the market had a pretty good turnout. It's important to open the market as scheduled to provide consistency for both customers and vendors. A lesson that was reinforced to me yesterday. It's also good to know that the customers who support the market every week won't let a little rain scare them away, thanks again for your support.

I continue to look for space to maintain a market through the winter and early spring and a day like yesterday only serves to reinforce my efforts.

I'll keep you posted on that and other things I'm working on. Take care and Eat Local.

David