Saturday Market at the Goods will debut June 14, running the second and fourth Saturdays in June, July and August outside The Goods Sustainable Grocery.
Organizer Michele Vasquez said the summer bazaar will feature talented craftspeople from around the central and southern Kenai Peninsula. The market will be open from noon to 5 p.m. and have a special themed day once each month.
Among the crafters set to be featured this summer are Ruby Smith, Cheri Johnson and Linda Price.
Smith runs Perfectly Baked, a bakery focused on desserts that might not be commonly found locally, like baklava. She said she started her business more recently than some of the other vendors, only launching in December after being encouraged by fellow members of a book club she’d been baking for. Her most popular good is a cinnamon roll fudge.
Johnson helms Arachne’s Web, where she sells tie-dyed and weaved clothing, accessories and home decor. She said she’s been in the local market scene for years, since debuting around six years ago in the Soldotna Pride market.
Price will be bringing her Alaska Socksation Farm to the market, where she sells specialty yarns and knitted goods made from fibers taken from her own animals, like alpaca, goat, hare and sheep.
The market opening day will host a pride celebration on June 14 in collaboration with Many Voices, Vasquez said. There will be family-friendly activities like rock painting and a scavenger hunt during the market. Many Voices will lead a rainbow march and karaoke night after the market closes.
Last year, Goods owner Willow King opened up the grassy space between her store and Kalifornsky Beach Road for vendors to use for “free market Saturday.” The new Saturday Market at the Goods, Vasquez said, grew from that program — maintaining a public market space at the store, just making it “in a more coordinated, organized way.” In addition to the vendors, Vasquez said that there will be a couple of food trucks, and The Goods will be open for further shopping.
“It’s a community effort,” Vasquez said, pointing to the other vendors at a planning meeting in May. “I’m just so enthralled and impressed by all of their talents.”
King said The Goods exists to lift up local farmers, artists, makers and entrepreneurs. She described the space as an “access point” for the community. The market is just one of many activities she hosts or facilitates in and around the store to that end.
For more information, find “Saturday Market at The Goods” on Facebook. More information about The Goods can be found at thegoodsalaska.com.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
Editor’s note: The headline of this story has been changed to reflect that the Saturday Market is being held at The Goods, but is separate from the business itself.
