Festival Market Place gears up for spring

MALLERY NAGLE

EDMOND — April 14 will kick off the fourth spring Farmers’ Market season at Festival Market Place in downtown Edmond.

Terry Lanham, City of Edmond special venues coordinator and market place manager, said the spring market will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday thereafter during April and May.

The exception will be May 5 during the Downtown Arts Festival. “The volunteers do a great job,” Lanham said of the annual street fair on Broadway. “We hope everyone will come out that weekend, too.”

Although the market will not make its 2007 debut until Saturday, that does not mean the open air pavilion has not seen its share of activity.

Lanham and City of Edmond Urban Forester Carrie Tomlinson have been planting flowers and spreading mulch in anticipation of the upcoming season.

“It’s a huge job,” Lanham said. “We would not have been able to do it without all of the volunteers.”

The urban forestry department has a virtual army of citizen volunteers who help with public beautification projects year-round.

The market place’s first big event of the season was the city’s annual Arbor Day celebration March 31. Sponsored by Edmond Electric, the celebration offered educational programs for children and adults. T-shirts featuring Arbor Day-themed artwork by Edmond Public School fifth-graders and seedling trees were the city’s gifts to all in attendance.

“It was so cool,” Lanham said of the event. “It really is a win-win situation.”

The next big event at the market place will be a cooperative effort between the city and the Oklahoma Highways and Byways Commission.

“We want to get the entire stretch of Route 66 in Oklahoma designated as an official highway and byway,” she said, noting the only roadway in Oklahoma that carries that title is near Talihina in the southeastern portion of the state.

Therefore, June 16 the farmers’ market will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lanham said there will be a Route 66 Welcome Center and vendors selling Route 66 memorabilia. There also will be a collection of antique tractors on display.

“There will be lots going on that day,” Lanham said. She added that June 16 was chosen because the participating farmers said they would have plenty of produce available that day to enable the market to stay open extended hours. Lanham also hopes the longer hours will enable people to visit several markets, especially those near Route 66, that day.

In anticipation of Fourth of July, the market place will sponsor the LibertyFest Road Rally July 1.

On July 3, it will be the site of “Chalk it Up,” an art event for families and individuals. Lanham said sidewalk artists will have the opportunity to showcase their talents in chalk on the market place floor. Masterpieces will remain until the rain washes them away. The event is free, but pre-registration through Edmond Parks and Recreation is required.

Lanham invites the public to attend a three-in-one Centennial Celebration event immediately following the Fourth of July parade at the market place.

During the ceremony, one of the newest pieces of public art will be dedicated. “Leaping into History,” a statue commemorating Kentucky Daisey will be unveiled to the public.

Nanitta Daisey was a reporter from the Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Gazette. The story, which Edmond Mayor Saundra Naifeh is fond of telling school children, said Daisy rode a train to the state to cover the Land Run.

During the ceremony, a time capsule will be buried and a walkway, made of bricks bearing sponsors’ names, also will be dedicated. The brick walkway will link First Street to the market place.

“These are three awesome centennial projects,” she said. “I hope everyone will celebrate with us.” The event will conclude with a red, white and blue balloon release.

Lanham said a park is planned for the land around the market place. She envisions a place for art classes, art shows and for live music.

She said the market place also is becoming known as a venue for wedding receptions. One was held there last summer and, so far, two have been booked for this summer. She called last year’s reception “successful” and “beautiful,” noting the market place lends itself to many decorating options.

“There won’t be a dull weekend there this summer,” she said. “The whole Festival Market Place is the premier facility of its type in the state.

“This is the job I’ve been waiting for all of my life,” she continued. “I get there in the morning to set up and it’s so quiet. But when the people get there, it explodes in laughter. When you get people together, it’s a great thing.”

(If you consider somebody in the community to be a local hero, contact Features Editor James Coburn at 341-2121, ext. 114 or e-mail him at jcoburn@edmondsun.com.)