When we first started crafting the design for the Saturday Artisan Market at the Central Wharf - what it would look like and how it would work - we knew that we had something special to roll out. To be able to feature some of the region's finest artisans in a waterfront setting was almost too good to be true. It didn't take long before we began to examine the timetable... just how long would this take to pull off with bureaucracy, paperwork, scheduling conflicts, etc.? "Oh boy," I thought. This might have to wait for summer 2012.
Fortunately, the response to the "Call for Artists" had been great, which meant that the bones for the artisan market were in place. Artisan Julie Leatherbarrow figured that the time was 'now' to meet with officials at Buffalo Place while I ran the concept by the decision-makers at the ECHDC. Kaitlin McGee (ECHDC) loved the idea, and since there was no cost (RFP process was long over) associated with the market, she told me that, with the blessing of the ECHDC, the remaining coordination of the event was in the hands of Buffalo Place, since they were responsible for coordinating and programming at Canal Side.
Recently, Julie met with Peggy Beardsley and Michael Schmand (Mike happened to be at the site mapping out stage locations) of Buffalo Place. Within days of getting the green light from the ECHDC, Peggy began to assume a role in getting the market off the ground. She also gave Julie permission to incorporate musicians into the mix, while allowing her to utilize key locations for live art demonstrations. To be honest, I have never seen a concept/plan come together so effortlessly and l hope to express to others who may be looking to enter their ideas into the ring to do so.
As it stands, the first date of the artisan market will be July 9th. The rest of the dates are July. To learn more about the market, or to apply to be in the show, check out this previous post.
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Photo (L-R): Kaitlin McGee, Julie Leatherbarrow, Mike Schmand, Peggy Beardsley
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Fortunately, the response to the "Call for Artists" had been great, which meant that the bones for the artisan market were in place. Artisan Julie Leatherbarrow figured that the time was 'now' to meet with officials at Buffalo Place while I ran the concept by the decision-makers at the ECHDC. Kaitlin McGee (ECHDC) loved the idea, and since there was no cost (RFP process was long over) associated with the market, she told me that, with the blessing of the ECHDC, the remaining coordination of the event was in the hands of Buffalo Place, since they were responsible for coordinating and programming at Canal Side.
Recently, Julie met with Peggy Beardsley and Michael Schmand (Mike happened to be at the site mapping out stage locations) of Buffalo Place. Within days of getting the green light from the ECHDC, Peggy began to assume a role in getting the market off the ground. She also gave Julie permission to incorporate musicians into the mix, while allowing her to utilize key locations for live art demonstrations. To be honest, I have never seen a concept/plan come together so effortlessly and l hope to express to others who may be looking to enter their ideas into the ring to do so.
As it stands, the first date of the artisan market will be July 9th. The rest of the dates are July. To learn more about the market, or to apply to be in the show, check out this previous post.
Follow on Facebook
Photo (L-R): Kaitlin McGee, Julie Leatherbarrow, Mike Schmand, Peggy Beardsley
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It would be amazing if you could get all of the chefs from the region to come once a month during the summer and do a mini taste of buffalo (sans tickets)
It is a great way to add an additional revenue stream for resturants, promote their food, and have an event at canalside that drives traffic. A win win for all!
These types of events are all the rage now in NYC.
In fact, in Brooklyn they just started a market just for food, called Smorgasburg - http://www.brooklynflea.com/smorgasburg/
Press on the event.
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/smorgasburgs-debut-draws-a-crowd/
I love this idea. Seriously, let's get some sort of market going on there every weekend in the summer! Artist market one weekend, food market another, wine/beer tasting another, etc etc. This plays right into the faster/cheaper idea that will carry the waterfront until the rest of the plan is built.