Our Rodeo Weekend Market

The first thing that comes to mind when I think about the Rodeo Market?

My husband was very happy when it was over because he got his wife back. 😂

Going into our second Max Community Market, I definitely felt more comfortable and more confident than I did the first time. I had done this once before, so I had a better idea of what I was getting myself into.

I tried to be more organized.

Tried being the key word....

I was still out there until dark the night before measuring and marking vendor spaces, getting everything ready, and making sure the lot was set up the way I wanted it.

But this time, I knew more.

I had a better idea of how vendors needed to be placed, how people would move through the market, and what I wanted the day to feel like. And honestly, every time I do one of these, I think I’m going to learn a little more and make the next one better.

Rodeo Weekend was exciting because we were trying more.

We had more vendors, different vendors, kids’ activities, and our first Max Market Passport Adventure.

I came up with the passport because I wanted people to have a reason to visit every booth instead of just walking through, glancing around, and leaving. People like having something to do.

A game, an activity, a chance to win something — it changes the whole feel of the market. It becomes more of an experience instead of just a bunch of people trying to sell you something. The passport gave people a purpose, and it gave our vendors more interaction with the people who came through.

And apparently, people liked it... I handed out all 75 passports!

When I realized I was completely out, my first thought wasn’t, Wow, that’s great!

It was, "Oh my gosh, are people going to be mad at me because I don’t have any more?"

I learned a few things about how I want to handle the prizes in the future. People wont be hanging out there all day and they don’t necessarily want to spend an entire certificate with one vendor, and I don’t want to be running around trying to keep track of who spent what where. So there will be changes, but for the better.

One thing about organizing something like this — everybody has an idea or an opinion about how you should do things, but sometimes you just have to make the best decision you can at the time and learn from it afterward.

And there was plenty to learn....

We had cancellations. We lost face painting and our balloon artist and we scrambled to find solutions, since we already had advertised it. We had new vendors with new booth configurations that needed adjustments to the way I had laid out the plans the night before and it was a little windy.

But the wind actually worked in our favor. The bugs had been driving me absolutely crazy the day before, and once the wind picked up, the bugs disappeared. It also kept the day from getting unbearably hot, so I’ll take the win where I can get it.

The people started showing up....and they kept coming.

I saw families, kids, teenagers, neighbors visiting, people shopping, and people pulling in right off Highway 83. That last part mattered to me. I had heard that maybe we should have been closer to the rodeo grounds, but watching people see us from the highway and stop reinforced my decision to stay where we were. Plus, we weren’t actually part of the rodeo - because they didn’t invite us...

We just decided to show up. 😂

And being right by the rodeo grounds would have meant competing with their concession stands, which didn’t feel fair either.

One of the most useful things that happened that day was people asking me for things we didn’t have. Fresh produce. Certain baked goods. Specific products. That made me realize I needed to pay attention to what people were actually looking for instead of guessing. So afterward, I created a customer survey. If people are telling me what they want to see at the Max Market, I want to listen. And if I can find vendors who offer those things, even better.

I also loved seeing teenagers there. There were teenage girls walking around, shopping, checking things out, and actually looking excited to be there.

Max doesn’t offer a lot for teenagers, and I would really like to change that. I don’t want the market to only have activities for little kids. I want teenagers to feel like there is something there for them too. I want there to be something for everyone.

By the end of the day, I was tired, relieved, and very ready to go home.

But I was also already thinking about what I would do differently next time. Because I think that’s what this market is becoming for me. Not just, How can I make the next market bigger? But, How can I make the next one better?

More things to do. More reasons to stay. More of what people are asking for.

I don’t want Max Community Market to feel like just a market. I want it to feel like an event.

And if you missed the Rodeo Market?

You’ll just have to come to the next one.