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Politics & Government

BID Seeks To 'Cultivate' Rebirth of Farmer's Market

Business officials seek to "bring more people to town and bring more energy."

Business leaders have less than a month to continue planning and implement a weekly farmer's market they hope will bring more people to Glendora and expose them to the business offerings downtown provides.

This is being considered a "pilot" program, with a farmer's market every Saturday scheduled to start May 11. Each event would have a different theme to highlight the offerings of the participating businesses for that week, said Elaina Phillips, member of the Business Improvement District Marketing Committee. If the event meets expectations, it would continue through late September.

The pilot program was further discussed and approved by the BID board at the April 11 Business Improvement District meeting.

As part of a marketing approach to broaden exposure to the Village, the weekly event would showcase an organic farmer's market, artisan fair and business expo. The program organizer has agreed to establish this pilot program with a 12-week contract, Phillips said.

"The purpose of this is to monitor the success of this project. We want to make sure the concept fits our vision financially, aesthetically and performance-wise," Phillips said.

The farmer's market would offer seasonal fruits and vegetables, organic honey, olive oil, herb gardens and baked goods from eight vendors. The artisans, five total, will be selected by the committee and will help establish an upscale essence while providing no direct competition with Village businesses, Phillips said.

The business expo will feature similar businesses that will market and promote their wares "through education, demonstration and entertainment," Phillips said. The May business expo will feature area salons, florists and day spas to tie in to Mothers Day. "The concept is to bring more people into town. The concept is to have more energy going on."

Chris Jeffers, city manager, expressed concern over the compressed timeframe to launch the farmer's market.

"Twelve weeks is, frankly, a pretty short period of time to determine whether this is successful. This will be the third or fourth attempt all within the Glendora Village," Jeffers said.

BID member and Southland Properties realtor Gary Boyer emphasized the importance of rallying support from Village businesses to keep the farmer's market thriving when past attempts failed.

"It's important to understand two of the farmer's markets failed because they did not have the support of the businesses down here. There were particular businesses that lobbied against the farmer's markets and were able to get them stopped," Boyer said.

The Thursday night farmer's markets, held in 2007, were very popular, according to Boyer, but ended due to a lack of a support from a small group of business owners.

Family Festival Productions, Inc., which handles farmer's markets throughout the area, is the company handling the upcoming Glendora event.

The farmer's market will be held Saturday's from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. behind the Plaza, while the business expo would be held in the Plaza itself.

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