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By Meg Cotner
For our first season of weekly markets, the Rocky Butte Farmers Market is looking to hire a Market Manager. Is that you? Read on for more details! The Rocky Butte Farmers Market is going weekly this year, on Saturdays from June 4 through September 23, 9am-1pm. Our Market Manager will be the director of operations for the market, on both market days and behind the scenes. Experience managing, co-managing, or serving in a leadership role in operating a farmers market is a big plus. We will soon be releasing an expanded job announcement detailing the desired qualities for this role. Check back on here soon to read the posting and learn how to apply. The Market Manager position will be listed as seasonal & part-time but it could evolve into a full-time year-round position, depending on fundraising and growth. Target compensation will likely be $20/hr and the position is part time at 20 hours per week from May through October 2022. Professional development training and support are available through the Oregon Farmers Market Association Network and other opportunities identified by the Board, core volunteers and Market Manager. The manager may set their own schedule aside from required attendance at all markets. If you are interested, please reach out to us at rockybuttemarket@gmail.com.  By Meg Cotner
Are you considering becoming a vendor at the Rocky Butte Farmers Market this season (June to September 2022)? You should! There are many reasons to sell your products at our Farmers Market as part of our community, and here are ten reasons why. 10. The Market is going weekly this year. After three years of developing the Rocky Butte Farmers Market, it became clear how desirable a weekly market is for the community. Weekly = consistency and opportunity to participate and grow your business. 9. The Market site is huge—with room for expansion. The site is a massive parking lot adjacent to Mannahouse Church atop the Rocky Butte itself. There’s lots of room for booths, display, and product visibility, not to mention ease of socially distancing in this day and age. 8. Parking is easy. At the Rocky Butte Farmers Market you get to park very close to your booth for ease of loading in/out and prepping your space. Need to grab backstock or stash some empty bins? No problem, your vehicle is only about 15 yards away. 7. Indoor restrooms are available. This detail is a real win for anyone—vendor or customer—attending the market. 6. Flexibility in market attendance + low booth fees. We’re happy to work with vendors in choosing specific dates they can attend throughout the season. We also have an “all-in” benefit: vendors that commit to and attend 16/17 or all of our markets will receive a 10% rebate at the end of season. We also have some of the lowest booth fees in the area—contact us for more information on that. 5. RBFM’s administrative support structure is solid. Another way for us to help you is that we give each vendor access to our Online Vendor Handbook, updated in real-time with detailed explanations of market criteria and policies. You’ll be able to attend a vendor orientation prior to the season’s start, and during the market season we share guidance on booth set-up/displays that attract more sales and customers. We are committed to nurturing a growing and supportive vendor pool, right from the start and through the season—and even over the years. 4. Open to new/beginning vendors who may be first time farmers market participants. Are you just starting out or have you been doing markets for just a short time? We want to help! Our goal is for you to be successful, so we would love to offer relative newbies a chance to get their “farmers market sea legs” with the RBFM. 3. The market is sited among supportive neighborhoods desiring local food access and supporting local businesses. Nearby neighborhoods of Sumner, Roseway, and Madison South are historically disadvantaged when it comes to things like a farmers market. Since we’ve been producing the Rocky Butte Farmers Market, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive. Neighbors are hungry (literally!) for this market and are truly grateful to the farmers and artisans who participate and make our collective lives better. It’s hard to turn away from such good energy! 2. Robust RBFM marketing campaign. We use social media, paid advertising, website, and community visibility/word of mouth to spread the news about the Rocky Butte Farmers Market. We dedicate our time to talking about our farmers and artisans in RBFM press releases, on our website, and in spotlights on social media, including our Farmer Fridays, which you may have seen already on Facebook and Instagram. We love to spread the word about the good work our market vendors are doing. 1. Committed to working with vendors to remove barriers to participating in the Rocky Butte Farmers Market. This is a biggie—we want to help you thrive and succeed at our market, and we are committed to helping you reach that goal. Your success is our success. This really is a community effort! Here’s who we are looking for:
Join us! You can start the process of becoming a Rocky Butte Farmers Market vendor on our Vendor page.
Did you hear the news? The Rocky Butte Farmers Market is going weekly this year! We are thrilled to be able to offer the Market and its products from the farmers and artisans we love, each Saturday from June to September. We are looking for musicians and entertainers to join us to provide additional fun and enjoyment each week—and that’s where you come in.
Some of our previous entertainers include:
Live music and entertainment are a key ingredient to our Market’s success; feedback regarding this aspect of the Market has been stellar. We’d love for you to join us this upcoming season. To perform and/or submit your group for consideration, please fill out this form once for each musical act. Be sure to include current examples of your music or entertainment. Compensation for your time performing at the Market is $50/hour for a two-hour slot; the location is at the base of Rocky Butte in the spacious Mannahouse Church parking lot. Joshua Shirley is our point person for all music/entertainment-related interest and questions you may have. We are excited to work toward a great season of live performances and look forward to hearing from you!  It's still a little ways away, but I'm getting super excited for this years Rocky Butte farmers market season! I'm curious to see who our new farmers and makers will be and looking forward to welcoming back some vendors from 2021.
This year, the Rocky Butte Farmers Market is partnering with Sparrowhawk Native Plants and Dharma Rain to bring more native plants to the communities of Rocky Butte. We're hoping to see thousands of native plants into our communities - while raising money for our beloved neighborhood market! This event is helping to raise funds for our market's transition to a weekly cadence. There are 2 ways you can be a farmers market supporter: 1) order plants beginning 2/15 and mark your pick-up location as Dharma Rain. (Save the date!) 2) sign up to assist in plant distribution at Dharma Rain. Click through to sign up and order plants to support our efforts! read through the details here. |
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May 2023
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