Coined 2012’s greatest success story by Trail Mayor Dieter Bogs, the Trail Market on the Esplanade is back by popular demand. It all begins this Friday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and will continue every second Friday in downtown Trail until Oct. 11. The first market of this year has attracted over 40 vendors, selling an array of goods and services, according to Norm Casler, Trail and District Chamber of Commerce executive director.
An increase in vendors means the market will now expand from Spokane Street well into Jubilee Park. “We’re going to block off every street in Trail if we have to,” said Trail councillor Eleanor Gattafoni Robinson. “The variety is amazing,” Casler added. “We’ve got everything from old world, hand-made pottery, farm fresh produce, organic produce, gourmet sauces and preserves, flower baskets, painted glass, dog treats, jewellery, belts, books, health and weight loss services, bees wax candles – I could go on.”
The city and the chamber partnered last year to deliver the market for the first time along the Esplanade, after a plan from the Downtown Opportunities and Action Committee recommended an ongoing event to bring more foot traffic into the downtown. A push to celebrate Trail’s core was met with over 6,000 visitors and 125 different vendors last summer. The success story continued into the Trail Memorial Centre’s gymnasium over the winter, where a maximum capacity of vendors was reached and a steady stream of customers passed through the doors.
The market is also perfect breeding grounds for a small business interested in gauging whether there is buyer interest, according to Dan McIlmoyle of Kootenay Spice. McIlmoyle and his wife Shannon took their passion for cooking and experimenting with spices last winter out of their own kitchen when they signed up for the winter market.
The return of the market has been a long-time coming, according to Gattafoni Robinson, who remembers when her mother used to buy her produce from a market held inside the Trail Memorial Centre’s curling rink.
If not for the shopping, residents are known to flock to the summer market to take in the “million dollar view” of the Columbia River or to catch up with old friends, she said. The atmosphere is lively with delicious sights, complemented with sounds of musicians busking and neighbours socializing.
Those interested in getting a table at an upcoming market can for $20 a regular spot or $25 for a powered spot. Vendors also get one free event if they sign up for all 10 markets and chamber members receive a 10 per cent discount off their bill.
From the Trail Daily Times