New farmers’ market launches: San Carlos moves Hot Harvest Nights to Sunday mornings

Many past vendors are returning and new ones will be on hand as well.

In addition to locally farmed produce and flowers, gourmet and specialty foods, there will be cooking demonstrations, local artists, live music, craft beer and premium wines, according to the chamber.

RipTides will be the first band to play at the new market.

Hot Harvest nights drew big crowds but it also may have hurt some of the brick-and-mortar restaurants and other businesses on Thursday nights, prompting the chamber to change strategies. The nighttime market also only lasted from May through September.

“Lots of discussion took place among downtown businesses, particularly restaurants,” David Bouchard, San Carlos Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer, wrote in a statement. “The number of after-work attendees and vendors converging on downtown was really becoming a hindrance to local businesses. We needed to strike a better balance.”

Sundays, he wrote, seems better suited to the community.

“We think downtown businesses will benefit from the more leisurely pace of the event and we certainly think more folks will walk and bike on a Sunday as opposed to rushing over after work,” Bouchard wrote.

The new market starts Sunday, June 5, on the 700 block of Laurel Street. It runs from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Many downtown stores and restaurants will be open, and there will be a variety of family-friendly activities.

Streets will be closed from about 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Access to all public parking lots has been preserved with the current layout of the farmers’ market. In addition, farmers’ market attendees will be encouraged to walk, ride their bikes or take public transit to the market.

Leading up to the change in days, some concerns expressed were that it will compete directly with the Belmont farmers’ market on Sundays and that there is limited parking downtown.

Others said downtown is easy to navigate now on Sundays but will get more difficult with the added congestion, Bouchard reported to the City Council previously.

The market will accommodate about 60 vendors a week and up to 40 vendors a week during the winter months.

The chamber was granted a special event permit on a pilot basis for one year to allow it to make adjustments throughout the year to suit the needs of downtown businesses and the community.

A plan to coordinate outdoor dining with restaurants downtown will be tackled in the future.

Visit sancarloschamber.org for more information.

bill@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 102