The City of Petal is gearing up for its first public market since its last farmer’s market in August and the Christmas market in December, with the upcoming 2020 Summer Market on Main.
The event – which is hosted by the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce, Grand Central Outfitters and Petal’s Market on Main – will be held from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. June 20 at 128 South Main St., outside Grand Central Outfitters.
Several local vendors will be on hand with items such as produce, food, arts and crafts, homemade soaps and jewelry.
“I am thrilled,” said Valerie Wilson, executive director of the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce. “I think people are just ready to see people in a friendly environment and be able to get the kids out.
“It’s going to once again get people to downtown Petal and help our merchants there, and get our businesses back up and running the way they were several months ago. Many of our residents are just ready to get outside and enjoy the summer and buy some fresh fruits and vegetables and arts and crafts. It’s just going to be a wonderful event.”
Although the event will be similar to other farmer’s markets held in the past, officials switched from calling it that in preference for the Market on Main moniker.
“We want people to be aware of the fact that we’ll have many more items there than just farm produce,” Wilson said. “We have lots of arts and crafts vendors, we’ll have people selling food, people with jewelry, and personal products like soap and candles. So it’s much more than just a farmer’s market.”
While the hours for past markets have usually been from 9 a.m.-noon, this year’s event has been scheduled to run for two extra hours.
“Because we haven’t had it in quite a while, we want to make it more valuable for our vendors to be there and give them a little bit more time,” Wilson said. “Plus, we hope that by spreading it out over a few more hours, due to COVID-19, maybe we won’t have that many people there at one time.
“They’ll have more options to come later in the day, so it won’t be as crowded.”
In light of COVID-19, the vendor booths will be spaced out further than they have been in the past, and attendees are encouraged to wear masks.
“Our vendors that will be there, each one of them will be providing sanitizers and making sure that their particular booth is doing everything possible to maintain its safety,” Wilson said. “We will also be closing off Main Street during the market, so we want drivers to realize that they’ll have to detour around South Main Street for those few hours.”
