Market topic of forum on Thursday

The Grayslake Farmers Market has enjoyed success the past three to four years to the point that the market instituted, to my knowledge, the only outdoor winter market in Lake County, which started the first Saturday in December, and ran consecutive Saturdays, ending Dec. 22.

The market will run one Saturday a month in January through May and then revert to the normal schedule of every Wednesday starting in June.

The success of the summer market lead to taking a chance on the winter market, with December results by the 10 participating vendors showing an acceptance by residents and nonresidents of Grayslake to a cold, outdoor activity meant to spur retail traffic for the businesses on Center Street.

The Grayslake Farmers Market is an all-volunteer organization that relies on donations from the citizens of the village and by business owners that are committed to a vibrant downtown retail climate. Conservative estimates show the market attracted 20,000 people to the downtown during its summer run. Some local businesses took advantage of that, while others did not avail themselves of the opportunities presented by all those potential customers.

A public forum will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. at the village hall to debate the continued presence of the market on Center Street. There are business owners that object to the taking of parking spaces on the north side of Center during the market hours of 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

These business owners are not opposed to the market. They are opposed to the market tying up parking spaces under the premise they are losing Wednesday business due to lack of available parking in front of their establishments.

The people coming to shop at the market have no difficulty finding a place to park and in a lot of instances walk from their homes.

The business owners opposed to the use of Center Street are making their arguments known at the public meeting on Thursday. Moving the market off Center Street would erode the gains the market has made to attract people to downtown, in essence negating the hard work of volunteers working to enhance the identity of the village and drawing potential shoppers to the Center Street businesses.

If you support the market and the enthusiasm it generates on Wednesdays during the summer and want to see the market succeed during the winter months, you are invited to make yourself heard at the Jan. 3 public meeting.

Steve Sarich

Operations Manager

Grayslake Farmers Market