The town of Dolores is back to managing the farmers market, and it had a workshop before its board meeting on March 24 to talk about how it’ll run this year.
About 30 people showed up to the meeting.
“It was a good turnout,” said Town Manager Leigh Reeves. “We heard from everyone and kind of went from there.”
The market will start June 4, the first Wednesday of the month, and end the last Wednesday in October. It’ll be back in Flander's Park this year.
Last season, the market’s manager quit after the town refused to give her money to pay musicians to play at the market. Reeves said she hadn’t requested the money in advance, so the town didn’t budget for it.
A few people at the meeting Monday brought up music at the market – and last year’s lack of it – and expressed concern about payments to musicians.
Reeves said the town allocated money to pay them this year, so there will be music at the market.
A lot of community members spoke in support of keeping the market free to vendors.
As one vendor at the meeting said, “It’s the reason we have as many of the vendors we have.”
At all other farmers markets in the area, vendors have to pay a seasonal fee of anywhere from $120 in Mancos to upwards of $600 in Durango – the Dolores town board voted to keep its market free for vendors.
The board did agree to add one rule, which is that vendors cannot start setting up until 2 p.m.
That’s because last year, one vendor set up first thing in the morning to secure a good spot, and came back later on to their things gone, said Reeves.
A few people brought up the “flea market items” some vendors sell, and questioned whether such items should be segregated from food, produce and homemade goods. The board didn’t implement any rule regarding where people can or cannot set up.
“I’m looking forward to it getting back to its roots in Flander's and run by the town,” Reeves said. “And when I say run by the town, I really mean run by the people in the market, because the town isn’t doing much running.”
It’s still the “lawless” market it’s always been– with the only rule being that vendors can’t set up before 2 p.m.
If you are a musician or you know one who’s interested in playing at the market, contact Leigh Reeves via email at Leigh@townofdolores.com to secure your spot!
