10/08/2026
Well, I need some input from the public! Please read through the information below and comment with any suggestions, thoughts, or ideas. โค๏ธ
The GHPRD is now requiring General Liability Insurance for events starting with our November market. The cheapest insurance I have been able to find for single-day events is over $150 PER EVENT, or over $500 for an annual policy.
On top of that, their reservation fees have increased this year (I just hadn't mentioned that previously). And, of course, this year I've also had the additional costs and requirements of setting us up as a business with the city, as well as dealing with health & safety requirements.
So, unfortunately, I need to look at whether continuing to hold these markets is financially feasible.
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Here are the options as I currently see them:
1๏ธโฃ ๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ฏ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ฌ, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ค๐๐ญ.
If we don't have 20 paid vendors one week before the event, the market would automatically be canceled. Vendor fees would remain the same, but unfortunately I would no longer be able to allow fees to be transferred to another market.
If the market is canceled by me because the minimum number of vendors is not met, already-paid vendor fees will be ๐ซ๐๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ $๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ง๐ซ๐๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐/๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐.
Once a market has reached the minimum and is confirmed, ๐ฏ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ will be subject to the cancellation policy: partial refund ONLY, no transferring to another date.
2๏ธโฃ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ญ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ $๐๐.
I really hate to do this because I already feel like our current fees are a little on the expensive side. However, this would allow us to lower the minimum to around 15 vendors per market. The same cancellation rules from #1 would apply.
This would mean;
- Regular Spots $50 โก๏ธ $60
- Electric Spots $60 โก๏ธ $70
- Information Only $25 โก๏ธ $35
- Food Trucks $75 โก๏ธ $85
3๏ธโฃ ๐
๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐.
This could potentially lower our costs, but there are some concerns. A different location may have less street visibility and natural foot traffic, which would mean putting more money and effort into marketing. There may also be fewer/no electrical outlets or bathroom facilities available.
4๏ธโฃ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ค๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง.
We had a good run. ๐ฅน And while I absolutely don't want this to be the answer, I also don't want to continue doing them if the numbers simply don't make sense.
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So I'd really love to hear from you!
If you're a vendor, shopper, or someone familiar with the Huntington area, what would you prefer? Would you be willing to pay a little more as a vendor? Do you have suggestions for another venue? Is there something I'm overlooking?
I genuinely want to hear your thoughts before making a decision. โค๏ธ
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