Kelowna Farmers and Crafters Market President Wolfe Wesle at the new location on Clement.
(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)
March 28, 2014 - 12:18 PM
KELOWNA – It’s official. The Kelowna Farmers Market will move downtown next year.
After a four-hour meeting Wednesday night, the board voted 9-1 in favour of moving to the soon-to-be-built Urban Square on Clement Ave.
The announcement came Friday morning and Society President Wolfe Wesle says although there was some controversy surrounding the move, the decision is the right one.
“We will have room for about 180 vendors here and the possibility to spill onto Vaughn St. on Saturday which gives us a great opportunity for expansion,” Wesle says.
Marketing consultant Mark Pigott says one of the criticisms has been the higher visibility of the current location where they have been for 18 years. Pigott however, says the reliance on temporary solutions to parking problems is not realistic long term.
“We have every confidence far more people … will come to this location,” Pigott says. “The vast majority of people are making an informed decision to visit the market and… that will be the same here (in the new location).”
Urban Square developer Gary Tebbutt has offered the use of the back lot Wednesdays and Sundays at a fixed rate for 15 years.
Once Urban Square is completed, vendors will also have the option to set up inside Wednesday to Saturday.
“We’re working on a model where maybe some vendors can cooperatively rent a space and one of them will be there on a Wednesday and one of them will be there on a Saturday,” Wesle says.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014