The Eugene Saturday Market is an outdoor

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale prod ...

market in Eugene,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. It is the oldest weekly open-air crafts market in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It has a

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atmosphere that includes live performers as well as art and crafts displays and sales, and also food booths and other local vendors. Between 3,000 and 5,000 people visit the market every Saturday.

History

Lotte Streisinger, a noted artist and community activist, and the wife of

George Streisinger George Streisinger (December 27, 1927 – August 11, 1984) was an American molecular biologist and co-founder of the Institute of Molecular Biology at the University of Oregon. He was the first person to clone a vertebrate, cloning zebrafish in hi ...

, founded the Eugene Saturday Market. The market first opened on May 9, 1970 with 29 vendors. It was located on city property adjacent to a city-owned parking structure in downtown Eugene. Each vendor paid $1 to participate. On the opening Saturday, it rained all day. Nevertheless, the market was successful enough that the Eugene

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

agreed to allow the

hippies A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

to continue using the site. More vendors joined the market as the Christmas holiday approached. The first season closed on the Saturday before Christmas with about one hundred vendors crowding into the market area.Clark, C. A.
"The Eugene Saturday Market"
''Discover Eugene'' (on-line magazine), ''www.discovereugene.com'', Eugene, Oregon, 28 April 2009. At the end of the first season, established businesses adjacent to the Saturday Market venue petitioned the city to close or move the market. Lane County commissioners offered a county-owned plaza,Baker, Ann
Market opens at new site”
''The Register-Guard'', Eugene, Oregon, 20 June 1971. the Park Blocks, in front of the county courthouse for the market on condition that the Saturday market incorporate and secure liability insurance. As a result, the Eugene Saturday Market was officially established. This arrangement with Lane County allowed the use of the Park Blocks only during the summer months. In the fall, the vendors were required to move to the upper level of a county-owned parking structure, known as the "butterfly lot", across the street from the Park Blocks. The Eugene Saturday Market continued to operate in those two locations until the end of the 1982 season."Market move a good one"
''The Register-Guard'', Eugene, Oregon, 2 December 1982. Over time, the Saturday markets held in the parking structure lost their customer base. As the number of vendors dwindled, the Saturday Market

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

began working with the City of Eugene and Lane County officials to find a new venue. In April 1983, the Eugene Saturday Market was relocated to a two-block park area at the intersection of Oak Street and 8th Avenue. This new venue was an attractive setting, with a central fountain and had enough space for 100 to 125 vendors. It was also centrally located in the downtown areas. Over the years, this has helped attract people to the market. In 2006, the City of Eugene prepared a master plan for the Park Block area. The plan included the Saturday Market as an important element in the area's long-term development. Today, the Eugene Saturday Market is the oldest continuously operating weekly open-air crafts market in the United States.Litwin, Kevin, "Eugene’s Saturday Market Features Arts, Crafts, Produce", ''Images Eugene'', Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, Eugene, Oregon, 2009Levy, Nat
"Eugene’s Saturday Market makes annual return to downtown today"
''The Register-Guard'', Eugene, Oregon, 4 April 2009. It inspired the creation of a similar market in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, which took the same sort of name, the

Portland Saturday Market The Portland Saturday Market is an outdoor arts and crafts market in Portland, Oregon. It is the largest continuously operated outdoor market in the United States. It is held every Saturday and Sunday from the beginning of March through Decembe ...

, and has been in operation since 1974.

Farmers market

In 1978, a county task force was created to determine if a farmers market could be successful if it were located adjacent to the Eugene Saturday Market. The concept was to offer an open-air venue for local growers to market their produce directly to the public. The Eugene Saturday Market organization would oversee the new farmers market. Based on the task force's recommendation, the county approved the first farmers market in August 1979. It was held on Saturday in a parking lot adjacent to the Saturday Market. The

Lane County Farmers Market The Lane County Farmers Market is the largest farmers market in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It provides fresh, locally grown produce, food products, flowers, and plants where shoppers buy directly from the producers. History The Lane County ...

became an independent organization in 1989. While it has not been as successful financially as the Saturday Market, the farmers market is still open from April through November ever year.

Marketplace

The Eugene Saturday Market is open every Saturday from early April until mid-November regardless of weather. The market opens at ten o'clock in the morning and closes at five o'clock in the afternoon. On the weekend before

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

, the market moves to the

Lane County Fair Lane County Fair is a fair that is held in the middle of the summer every year, at Eugene, Oregon, and it features cuisine, entertainment, and music. Excellent family entertainment, cuisine, and artwork can be found at the Lane County Fair. A Lane ...

grounds where it is held indoors through Christmas Eve. This market is called the Holiday Market There is no admission charge and people walk through the market area freely. During a normal Saturday, between 3,000 and 5,000 people visit the market. Every year, shoppers buy approximately $2.5 million worth of handcrafts and food from Saturday Market vendors."Saturday Market Fact Sheet, 2008"
, Press Area, Saturday Market, ''www.eugenesaturdaymarket.org'', Eugene, Oregon, 2008. Everything sold at the Saturday Market is

handcrafted A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

. In addition, all of the products for sale at the market must be sold by the person who made them or a member of their immediate family. The market offers a wide variety of handcrafted goods including artwork, jewelry, clothing, and craft furniture. Vendors also sell homemade jams, breads, and honey. There are about fifteen food booths at the market. The food court features many global food cuisines, including Afghani,

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n, Mexican,

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, and

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. The food booths must meet all

state health department A state health agency (SHA), or state department of health, is a department or agency of the state governments of the United States focused on public health. The state secretary of health is a constitutional or at times a statutory official in se ...

regulations and licensing requirements. The food service operations are also subject to regular public health inspections. The Eugene Saturday Market provides a venue for local musicians and other performing artists. There are six stage performances every week. There is a kid friendly act at 10am on the Saturday Market stage every week. There are also strolling performers who play in open areas throughout the Park Blocks. During the course of a year, over one thousand performers appear on the Saturday Market stage. Currently, there are over 700 members of the Eugene Saturday Market. About 300 of these members are active vendors who regularly sell crafts or food at the market. Members pay an annual $50 fee. On Saturdays, vendors pay $13 to rent an eight-foot by eight-foot booth or $8 for a four-foot by four-foot booth. Vendors must also pay ten percent of their sales revenue to the Saturday Market.

Awards

The Eugene Saturday Market won local recognition as Lane County's first-best place for a family outing in ''

The Register-Guard ''The Register-Guard'' is a daily newspaper in the northwestern United States, published in Eugene, Oregon. It was formed in a 1930 merger of two Eugene papers, the ''Eugene Daily Guard'' and the ''Morning Register''. The paper serves the Eugene- ...

s Readers' Choice awards in 2010."2010 Readers' Choice."
''The Register-Guard''. Retrieved September 21, 2010. Eugene Saturday Market won the 2018 Fentress Endowment Award presented at The Arts & Business Alliance of Eugene's BRAVA Breakfast. This award, established by Carroll D. and Harriet Fentress in 1984, is given annually to a local arts organization for exceptional work and achievement in the arts. The winner is selected by a committee of local Eugene artists and community leaders. The committee chose Eugene Saturday Market to recognize the important role the Market has played in Eugene's community as a venue for local artists, crafts people and performers.

Governance

The Saturday Market is a not-for-profit-organization. Its board of directors sets policy and oversees market operations. The board has nine members elected by Saturday Market members. Each director serves for 18 months and may be re-elected once. An election is held every three months with three director positions being filled at each election. The members of the board elect a chairperson, who serves for one year. The board also elects a treasurer.Streisinger, Lotte
"Saturday Market: A Historical Perspective"
, History, Saturday Market, ''www.eugenesaturdaymarket.org'', Eugene, Oregon, April 1974. The Saturday Market standards committee was established in 1981. It establishes guidelines for crafts sold at the market and is responsible for setting on-site marketing rules. It also resolves disputes between vendors. In addition, a budget committee works with the board of directors to ensure the organization remain financially healthy. The budget committee prepares an annual budget and a vendor fee schedule for board approval. The board of directors hires employees and sets their salaries. Currently, there are only three full-time employees; a director, a financial coordinator, and a promotions coordinator. There are also twelve part-time employees who help set up and take down the stage and information booth on Saturdays.

References

External links

Eugene Saturday Market photo gallery
{{coord, 44.050938, -123.091185, type:landmark_region:US-OR_source:googlemaps, display=title Tourist attractions in Eugene, Oregon Festivals in Eugene, Oregon 1970 establishments in Oregon