Our First Max Community Market

maxmarketnd

Aug 15

3 min read

I started Max Community Market because I felt like Max was missing two things:

A place for small businesses to thrive and a place for people to gather, visit, and connect.

There’s actually a name for that kind of place — a third place. A space outside of home and work where people can gather, visit, and feel connected to their community. That’s what I hoped the market could become.

When I first announced it, I had no idea if anyone would sign up to sell, and I definitely didn’t know if anyone would actually show up. I had an idea, though, so I went with it.

I was nervous. I had helped with fundraisers and events before, but I had never been the sole organizer of something like this. There were so many things I had to figure out, so I did a lot of research, made a plan, and started from there.

I wanted the market to feel like a farmers market, a community gathering, and an event all mixed together. I didn’t want it to just be a place where people came, bought something, and left. I wanted it to be memorable — something people would look forward to coming back to again and again.

Getting ready for that first market definitely wasn’t a one-day job. There were so many little pieces that had to come together - building the website, sending emails, managing the Facebook page, finding vendors, answering questions, deciding who was going where, figuring out the schedule, making signs, preparing the lot, making sure it was mowed, and trying to think through all the little “who, what, when, where, and why” details before market day ever arrived. A lot of the work happened long before anyone pulled into the lot.

Then market day arrived.

As the vendors started setting up, I remember looking around and thinking, Wow. This is really happening!

And honestly? It looked good!

There was excitement in the air before we were even officially open. People were stopping and asking what was going on while we were still setting up, and I had to tell them, “We’re getting ready for the market! We’re not open yet, but we will be!”

We had fresh eggs, plants, jellies and jams, banana breads, gourmet dog treats, fresh lemonade, and more. But my favorite part wasn’t necessarily what was being sold.

It was seeing people visit.

People were talking with their neighbors, bringing their kids, running into people they hadn’t seen in a while, and just spending time together.

I really didn’t have a number in my head for what a “good turnout” was supposed to look like. Honestly, I was just happy there were people there and that they were enjoying themselves.