The Eastern Charlotte Night Market is something many community members enjoy, but was an idea born out of bringing something unique to Charlotte County.
Sue Guthrie, Jordan Holmes, and Jen Martin set reasonable expectations and had a good response from a variety of vendors.
“And the community has really taken [it] on, very enthusiastic,” Guthrie said. “We keep our vendor list varied and hopefully, in time, it will become a market where you can buy fruits and vegetables, everyday things to use, and make it a social event.”
It has become so popular, the market has received more requests to take part in its February market than it has space to accommodate them.
“We reached capacity right away,” said Holmes, adding it was able to fit about 38 vendors inside Magaguadavic Place, a community centre in St. George. “We were expecting that because we’ve had such an amazing turnout and variation of vendors.”
It started in partnership with Eastern Charlotte—the local government—in September.
“We found overall it was positive from all sides,” Holmes said, speaking to The Courier. “The municipality liked it, the vendors liked it, and most importantly the community liked it.”
Holmes said from that point forward the market saw exponential growth. The first list of vendors included about ten operators, now the list is at 82.
The growth was also reflected in the number of people attending the market. Its second market brought in about 200 people. The third coincided with Ladies Night—where businesses stay open later for community members to shop and dine—bringing in about 400 people.
St. George used to have markets on a fairly consistent basis, according to Gutherie, but over time those stopped operating.
“We started mentioning it to people just in general conversation and people would bring up, ‘oh, it would be lovely to have a market,’ ” she said. “So, this is what made me lean toward a market … and there was a lot of excitement.”
The group has vendors on the waitlist to join them.
Holmes said the intention is not to compete with markets that operate in St. Andrews and St. Stephen, but to offer a unique experience only Charlotte County can provide.
“On April 3, we are officially launching weekly markets in Eastern Charlotte,” he said. “Every Friday, they will primarily be at the Riverside Park Pavilion that was built just last year.”
Those markets will run from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
But the group isn’t stopping there, working on the market’s future in partnership with the municipality, who Holmes said has been supportive of their initiative.
“We’re looking at bringing in volunteers … to offset our own time,” he said. “We really need the community behind us to make this thing work.”
The market has worked to support local businesses, encourage individuals to shop local, and fundraising efforts, including with Fundy Middle High School graduating class.
“We’re trying to keep it exciting and interesting,” Holmes said.
The next Eastern Charlotte Night Market is on February 13 at 11 J O Spinney Street in St. George from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
