Friday nights in Polson Park are about to get a little more interesting.
Friends Mayla Janzen and Ashley Hoppichler are bringing an artisan market to Polson Park, every Friday evening throughout the summer.
The Polson Artisan Night Market will feature creative clothes, jewelry, woodwork, blankets and more plus farm-fresh goods and hopefully food trucks.
Organizers have been working with the city for a few months and are proud to bring the first market to the park July 2, from 3-8 p.m. And they are looking for vendors to join them.
Local entrepreneurs will be given priority, with farmers getting a discount and a highlight on food trucks.
“We are looking to have a mixture,” said Janzen, who owns Okanagan Blankets.
The market is approved for 50 vendors and will be located on the grass between the bandshell and the lawn bowling club.
“We’re almost at capacity for the first market,” Janzen said. “We’re really stoked.”
The pair are excited to bring some life to the park and provide something for people to do when they get out of school or off work.
“This whole downtown is about to change,” said Janzen, who is eager to see a block of 30th Avenue closing over the summer, plus events returning to town.
READ MORE: Green light given to downtown Vernon road closure
Having moved to the area five years ago from Vancouver Island, where she owned a café, Janzen fell in love with Vernon, but not with the lack of things to do.
The existing farmers’ market is great, she said, but it’s limited for those who don’t have day jobs and can make it between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays.
Craft markets, such as Creative Chaos, have been cancelled again due to COVID-19, and it’s only recently that crafters were allowed back at the farmers’ markets.
READ MORE: Artisans’ return to markets welcome news: Vernon chamber
“It’s left this giant void in town for people who make art,” said Janzen, who was making a fraction of what she used to.
Janzen, 34, and Hoppichler, 37, met doing markets and underwent the same struggles that the pandemic has brought.
Along with benefiting their own businesses, they wanted to provide an opportunity for other artists to make a living again.
Those interested are urged to apply at polsonmarket.com, where they can sign up for one or all the Polson Artisan Night Markets.
READ MORE: Vernon Farmers’ Market weathering the challenges of COVID-19
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Mayla Janzen and Ashley Hoppichler, with her daughters Lily and Sophia, are bringing a Friday evening market to Polson Park, starting July 2. (Jennifer Smith - Morning Star)
