What do tomatoes, German cookies, honey, quilts, and green beans have in common? All of those items and more will be part of the new Downtown Marion Market set to kick off this Friday. Markets will run from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm every Friday through October 12, except for Marion Popcorn Festival week.
“We have been getting a lot of requests,” said Karen Herr, manager of Downtown Marion, “for some type of venue in Downtown Marion where people could purchase fruits and vegetables. We decided to expand that to include anything handmade, homemade or homegrown.”
In what is described as an open air market atmosphere, vendors will set up on the sidewalks beginning at the Marion County Courthouse on the corner of Main and Center streets and moving west on Center Street.
“We plan to fill the sidewalks with a variety of baked goods, fruits, vegetables, homemade noodles, crafts, handmade treasures and more,” said Cindy Charpie, who is chairing this event. “By setting up on the sidewalks,” said Charpie, “we’ll be leaving plenty of parking spaces on the street open for those coming to the Downtown Market.”
According to Herr, in the past Downtown Marion was the place to be on Friday nights … the streets were packed with both shoppers and social events.
“We can’t totally recreate that atmosphere from the 1950s or ‘60s,” said Herr, “but what we can do is provide a venue to encourage people to come and experience Downtown Marion as it is now. It’s come a long way in the past 10 years and we want people to have a share in the revitalization of Downtown Marion.”
Herr noted there are a variety of restaurants within a short distance of the market, including Baires on South Main, The Candy Shack & Café inside Charleston Place, Infinity in the historic Harding Hotel, and the Warehouse located in the former inter urban railway building on West Center. Within a few weeks, another restaurant, Maury’s on Main will be opening on South Main Street. She also indicated that many of the stores will be having sidewalk sales, as well.
“You can come early,” said Herr, “and visit Heritage Hall and the Wyandot Popcorn Museum … then visit the market … do a little shopping … grab a bite to eat … and top off the evening by going to the Palace Theatre as there is generally an event or movie most Friday evenings."
“My mantra has been, ‘Where you eat, shop and play matters … do it locally,’” said Herr. “The Downtown Marion Market provides the perfect opportunity to do all three.”
For further information, or if you are interested in becoming a vendor, call Herr at 740-382-2181 or Charpie at 740-361-2940.
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