Open-air market a possibility for downtown Cape

An open-air market near the Cape Girardeau riverfront could draw more people to downtown, benefiting local businesses, organizers say.

A public forum is planned for Jan. 24 to gather input from possible vendors, downtown business owners, artists and local residents on creating a new riverfront market. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the fellowship hall of the First Presbyterian Church at 235 Broadway.

"It's been on my radar for a long time, but it's not something we really have the resources to develop and manage," said Marla Mills, executive director of Old Town Cape.

Last year, at nearly the same time, Mills was approached by organic farmer Emily Scifers and a California businessman who relocated to Cape Girardeau, Levi Olson, about starting a farmers market downtown, she said.

Since then, a steering committee including Olson and Scifers has been brainstorming, researching and working on the riverfront market concept, an idea that was included in Cape Girardeau's Downtown Strategic Plan.

"I grew up in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and they have a farmers market that's received tons of awards. I remember when I was growing up, my parents took me to it every Thursday night," Olson said. "There was always entertainment. My parents would buy all the local produce, and the kids, we would watch the mimes, there was a guy who played the cello that everybody loved, there were jugglers and magicians. I want to bring that same kind of feel to Cape Girardeau."

A Saturday open-air market is proposed, but Mills emphasized the concept is still in development.

Organizers want the people to share their thoughts at the public forum on what should be offered at the market, where the best location is and what kinds of entertainment and activities should be incorporated. They hope to hear from potential vendors as well as customers.

Charles Hopper, marketing specialist from the Missouri Department of Agriculture, will facilitate the meeting. Olsen reached out to the department last year for organizational assistance. Hopper recently visited Cape Girardeau to discuss the details of the proposed market.

"My concern is that if something is done, it is developed in a way that we can make it sustainable," Mills said. "We think it would be great for downtown."

More and more farmers markets are popping up across the state and around the country. The Missouri Department of Agriculture's farmers market map lists 203 markets throughout the state, and in Missouri there has been about a 10 percent increase in the number of markets each year over the past decade, according to the department.

Nationally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that more than 1,000 new farmers markets are operating throughout the country in 2011 -- a 17 percent increase from 2010, when there were 6,132 markets.

Old Town Cape's board has agreed to serve as an umbrella organization to get a riverfront market off the ground but hopes it will eventually develop into its own separate entity, Mills said.

mmiller@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

235 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO