Market director Kate McChesney described the season as another successful one, with mostly great weather and vibrant crowds each week.
“We had an absolutely beautiful summer, from the kickoff even to the last three where we had the fall colors popping,” McChesney said on the KPCW “Local News Hour” Wednesday. “There was, a little overcast, a little drizzle, but the people just danced and drank and ate and shopped and, you know, just really made Main Street nice and vibrant.”
While attendance was down compared to 2024, McChesney says the difference wasn’t noticeable on the street.
“Main Street and Old Town parking was full. Richardson Flat was full. The bus was full. The bike valet was fantastic,” she said.[GU1] “I'm always amazed. Even at 10 o'clock in the morning, I look up the street and I go, ‘Holy cow, where in the heck are all these people coming from?’ But they figure it out - they get there.”
More than 140 vendors participated this season, with over 200 more on a waitlist. McChesney says a jurying process helps ensure a balanced mix of offerings and prevents an oversaturation of any one type of product.
Youth vendors, she says, are always welcomed.
“We had a ton of youth vendors,” she said. “And youth vendors will always hit the system. So, when somebody checks the box of a youth vendor, we'll make sure that they get a few dates, because those really are our target market right now. We want to get them into the market so that they can understand the business sense. We've partnered with Summit County with their 4H program, entrepreneur program, to try to get a lot of their youth into the market over the past couple years.”
The economic impact is also significant. Vendors sold about $1.7 million in goods this summer.
“We're not really the nonprofit that goes out and spends two, $3 million on a true economic impact report,” McChesney said. “[GU2] We look at the number of people we bring to the street. We look at the number of sales tax revenues. We see very, very happy vendors and happy patrons, and we know that we're making a really great impact.”
The Park Silly Market will return next summer for another 11 Sundays. Vendors will be able to apply after the Holiday Bazaar – featuring 80 vendors – takes place at the Doubletree/Yarrow hotel December 12 – 1
