Mingle On The Square On Hold Indefinitely

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

The weekly Mingle on the Square farmers markets have come to an end, at least for now but potentially forever. Lori Carter (director of Lula Lake Farmers Market) is planning one September event that is still taking shape. Beyond that, future plans are uncertain.

“One person can’t make a market happen,” she said. While Carter herself was enthusiastic and she heard lots of enthusiasm from locals about a market, that enthusiasm didn’t carry over into vendors signing up or shoppers coming out to the events.

“It has to start out right,” Carter said. “You’ve got to have vendors, and you’ve got to have buyers. If one or the other isn’t present, you’ve got a problem. It was apparent pretty quickly that that was going to be a problem here.”

A number of other factors came into play, like the nearly non-stop rain this May and competition from the flea market (next to 12213 South Main Street).

The Sentinel heard from many people that if they were to shop at a weekly market, typical farmers market food items would be needed, and Carter agreed. “It’s got to be something you can count on,” she said—both for the customers, but also for the vendors. Customers want to know that they can complete some of their weekly grocery shopping at the market, and farmers, bakers, etc. plan what to grow/make/bring specifically based on the market.

Carter even worked to get the Double Up Food Bucks food stamps program approved for use at Mingle on the Square. People approved for the program could get $20 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables for $10. However, the vendors at Mingle weren’t selling items that qualified, so no one got to benefit from the program.

The vendors who did come this year by and large fell into the arts and crafts category, much like last year’s Mingle on the Square iteration.

Carter said there’s been an explosion of farmers markets in the greater Chattanooga area, and there’s also been a growing number of festivals and events (like our own 1945 Fair) that feature vendors and food trucks. For example, Carter mentioned LaFayette’s weekly market at the city-owned pavilion and property. She said Mingle lost vendors to that market.

Some festivals pay vendors a fee so that vendors are guaranteed at least some payment for their time and effort, regardless of sales. Many vendors favored larger markets and festivals over the small gathering at Mingle on the Square. “We had vendors who initially said they wanted to come, but they were asking us what our numbers would be,” recalled Carter. “It was a fresh, new market, so we didn’t have numbers to tell them, and we certainly didn’t have money to pay them.”

Carter loves the charm of Dade County’s gazebo and square. “It could have been a wonderful event for Trenton, Dade County, and the surrounding areas,” she said, “but insurance costs money, signage costs money, even paying for lunch for the trustees who worked the events costs money. Organizing markets gets to be a very expensive hobby very quickly.”

Of the attempts to have live music, she explained that most quality musicians and bands want to be paid.

Carter was thankful for the support of the Alliance for Dade and the county officials and employees she worked with, but she said many of them didn’t attend the events—not that they must attend every community event, but that she would have been glad to see them show support by coming to Mingle.

She gave shout-outs to Friends of Cloudland Canyon State Park, the Lions Club, and Dr. Chad McDill who set up booths at Mingle, as well as Tritex (a significant event sponsor).

While a weekly farmers market may simply not be feasible here in Trenton, Carter’s efforts helped the community gain further insight into the obstacles preventing success.