Despite a busy schedule leading up to Market Days, we caught up with Susan Sokul, communications and events coordinator for Intown Concord, to get a look at some of the behind the scenes stuff that goes on with Concord’s premiere summer event. And of course we have to share what we found out with all of you.
When do you start planning for Market Days? Once Midnight Merriment is in the rear-view mirror, we launch right into Market Days. We love thinking about summer in January!
How many people do you expect to mill around North and South Main over the three days? Tens of thousands!! We guesstimate that we have 50,000 Market Days visitors over the course of three days.
How many volunteers do you have signed up to help? Adding up the Market Days committee (whose members work on the festival for half the year), Intown Concord’s board of directors, plus our fabulous community volunteers and students – well over 100 volunteers help make it happen.
How long does it take to set everything up? How about to break everything down? Market Days goes up in a flurry – less than 6 hours from the time the tent guys arrive early Thursday morning to the official opening hour. Vendors arrive before the sun is up, with lots of energy and anticipation. Saturday night tear-down is surreal: vendors often start slowing packing up at around 9 p.m. – they’re tired, but they don’t depart until 10 p.m. Liza and I take a short breather at this point and watch the whirlwind vendor departure from our golf carts. Then it’s time to remove all the materials like signs and sandwich boards, help pack and tidy up venues as needed, load vehicles with things to take back to the office, finish with trash (tons of trash), and then wait for the street sweepers to arrive. We truly enjoy the quiet at about midnight as we canvas Main Street to make sure all is in order. It is totally serene downtown at about 1 a.m., and amazing to see Main Street back to its original condition – as if nothing had happened.
Do you reach out to participants (vendors, bands, volunteers, etc.) to get involved, or do they reach out to you? Word of mouth is the best form of advertising. Vendors tell other vendors about this great festival – we’ve had a vendor waiting list for the past two years. We count on volunteers to bring their friends – you can never have enough helpers! – and we have an entertainment committee that does an awesome job of coordinating all the music and other performances.
What’s your favorite part about Market Days? The people that come to Market Days! I truly enjoy watching the kids and families having fun together. Teens and friends meeting up and hanging out together. Neighbors and friends chatting in the middle of the street and catching up after a long winter.
What’s the most nerve-racking? Wednesday evening (the night before Market Days). We’ve done as much as we can, and now we have to wait for the arrival of the vendors and for the “show” to begin. And, of course, the weather, which (dangit!) we have not figured out how to control.
Why did you decide to keep the festival in June? Will it be in June from now on? The feedback we received last year was overwhelmingly positive to keep the festival in June. (Last year, the Main Street Project construction schedule made it necessary to switch from July to June.) We’ll gather feedback again this year and then work with the city to set a 2017 date. The June date is a great way to kick off summer!
What’s your favorite addition to the event this year? Tough question – all additions are fun, and we encourage people to come multiple days to check out all the offerings. There are new performers, new vendors, new food – even a mostly new Main Street! I really can’t single one thing out.
How long of a vacation do you plan on taking when Market Days is over? I love summer and I will take a few beach days, but there is a lot of post-event clean up that happens! Plus, Aug. 19-20 is our Discover Downtown Summer Sidewalk Sale and Art Walk, so we’ll be busy planning that. Watch for details.
If there was one thing you could add to Market Days, where money is no object, what would it be? An enormous dance floor and sound system/DJ with light show at Main & Pleasant. Every night during Market Days there would be a giant dance party!
Do you think if we had an autograph booth, anyone would visit it? Would you visit? Yes! Autographs with photos would be a big hit – especially if all the photos could be featured in the Insider.
Is there a prize if we eat at every single food vendor? Yes, we will make you an XXL T-shirt that says ” I did not miss a bite at Market Days.”
