The Estevan Farmers鈥� Market will open a little earlier than usual this spring.
That was one decision made by the marketers who gathered for their annual general meeting last week which helped set the stage for another busy outdoor season.
鈥淲e will continue to set up in the Estevan Shoppers Mall parking lot (east side), on Saturdays鈥� said market manager Pat Thompson.
鈥淏ut there is a new wrinkle this year. The first three markets will be held indoors in the mall, beginning on April 25, which is earlier than usual,鈥� she said. The markets on May 2 and May 9 will also be conducted inside in the mall鈥檚 main concourse.
鈥淭he market then moves outside on May 16,鈥� said Thompson.
To accommodate the mall鈥檚 general hours of business, the Farmers鈥� Market will begin at 10 a.m. for these three indoor events. It will close at 2 p.m.
When the market moves outside, the vendors will return to their usual 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. schedule.
Thompson said the marketers have renewed a three-year contract with the mall management that will allow them to continue to set up shop on the east side of the mall鈥檚 parking lot each Saturday beginning May 16. That contract now extends to include the next three years of indoor sales at the mall during the Christmas season as well. This past year the vendors were invited to use the mall for their indoor Christmas market since their usual market space at Exhibition Hall was not available. The experiment went over well with mall management, mall retailers and market vendors, so the decision was made to continue.
Thompson said that contract will expire in 2018 and the market locations for both seasons will be revisited at that time.
Thompson was selected as the market manager again, which will be her third year in that position.
Lynda Dunbar stepped down as president of the vendor鈥檚 group and Mary Antonenko was elected to fill that position. The executive also welcomed Bonnie Ries as a new member to the board of directors.
鈥淲e had a good discussion regarding vendor commitment as well as the earlier start to the spring season. It was generally agreed that trade shows are quite popular and many of our vendors are already geared up for those kind of things, so opening one Saturday earlier, didn鈥檛 pose any problem,鈥� said Thompson.
A few weeks earlier it was noted that the market had enjoyed a record-setting financial year for the third consecutive term, thanks largely to a hefty increase in Christmas season sales.
