What began as 10 vendors selling their goods in an indoor space has blossomed into an outdoor, market-style setting with entertainment, food, spaces for 40 vendors and a list of 80 vendors who rotate attendance.
The Market Square initiative, a market held at the Olde Towne Okotoks plaza along with First Saturdays, has expanded since its start up earlier this year, showing the potential of the project which winds down for the season on Oct. 1.
“Most of our vendors are telling us that it has increased their sales quite a bit and they have been able to get that exposure that they were needing,” said Adriana Bratu, one of the organizers.
Bratu and Andrea Wilton-Clark started Market Square because they were looking for platforms to advertise their small businesses. Bratu sells Mexican imports, while Wilton-Clark works with Not4Sale, a local non-profit group working to set up safe houses for children to escape the sex trade industry in Asia.
“Both of them being small home-based initiatives, it is difficult to find a market to properly bring it out to the community,” said Wilton-Clark.
The two knew other women running small businesses and wondered how they could work together.
“Is there a way to come together and sell our products more in a market-style setting and therefore, engaging the community and drumming up a bit of attention to it?” Wilton-Clark said of their initial concept.
The group of women combined their contacts and hosted the first event in March indoors. With space for 10 vendors the event was well attended with thousands of shoppers visiting the inaugural market.
Buoyed by the success of their first venture the group joined forces with the First Saturdays, a monthly festival of arts and culture in Olde Towne hosted by the Town of Okotoks and the Okotoks Arts Council. The Market Square initiative is set up on the first Saturday of each month in the Olde Towne Okotoks Plaza, and boasts vendors, artisans, food, live music and entertainment.
“What we really strive to do is to bring together and to create an authentic market feel,” said Wilton-Clark.
Bratu said the event is fun for children too, not just for adults who want to shop. The Foothills Victory Church will have a bouncy castle set up at the next Market Square.
“Our hope is really more than just to entice people to shop, it’s really to bring the community out… a community gathering where people mingle,” said Wilton-Clark.
Market Square has also helped raise more than $50,000 for Not4Sale through pendant sales.
“That’s thanks to the community for coming out and knowing about the cause and then supporting the cause,” said Wilton-Clark.
The next market will collect non-perishable food items and monetary donations for the local food bank. Market Square will also be held Dec. 4 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Okotoks Recreation Centre with Santa Claus visits and photos. Donations for the food bank will also be collected that day.
Market Square will set up in the plaza again next year from May to October on the first Saturday of the month.
In the future, organizers want to bring in other non-profit groups to help give them exposure. The group is also always looking for corporate sponsorship and noted how one of the events brought a lot of business to a former sponsor through the advertising at Market Square.
They said a concern was raised Market Square takes attention away from other businesses in the area on First Saturdays, but organizers say their vision is to incorporate all the businesses in the area as they want to work together, and encourage them to become involved or put out a table in front of their store.
“Ultimately the vision is, and this is exactly what First Saturdays’ vision is, is to make it huge,” said Wilton-Clark. “Make downtown Okotoks a destination so that people from Calgary, High River, Black Diamond – everybody is coming here because they know that activities are going on, on the First Saturday of each month.”
