Flint, MI – The Flint Farmers’Market will open the doors of its NEW home at 300 E. First Street on
Saturday, June 21, 2014 at 8:00 a.m. with an official ribbon cutting ceremony. All total over 100 vendors will be stocked up and ready for business when the doors open including nearly 50 inside along with a full OUTSIDE pavilion of farmers and a wide array of arts and crafts vendors in the market Street Fair all excitedly anticipating their customers first glimpse of the new site. The market parking lot can be accessed from either First Street or Second Street. Parking attendants will be onsite at the Grand Opening to help first time customers find their way easily. There will be free and safe on-site parking at the new market. On Grand Opening Saturday, there will be more than 700 spaces available, thanks to the cooperation the Flint Farmers’ Market has received from adjacent businesses. Market organizers have an exciting day planned for customers with live entertainment all day featuring performances from:
8:00 a.m. – Black Tie Production.
10:00 a.m. – Flint Contra Dancers.
10:30 a.m. – Soul Shake featuring, Tim Freeman
12:30 p.m. – Brinae Ali – Destination Forever
1:00 p.m. – Mama Sol & the NU.TS
3:00 p.m. – El Ballet Folklerico Est.udiantil
3:30 p.m. – Greg Ellis Blues Band
In addition to the live entertainment, other activities include: face painting, an interactive exhibit from
the Flint Children’s Museum, market tours, an Arts and Crafts street fair, Black Tie Productions Photo Booth, cooking demonstrations in the Dort Federal Credit Union Demonstration Kitchen and much, much more!
The New Flint Farmers’ Market is more than a place to shop, it is a destination and an entrepreneurial hub. Like no other in the mid-West and likely in the U.S., it has a state of the art demonstration kitchen, a rentable commercial kitchen, an incubator kitchen program (Flint Food Works) and community rooms for private and public events all under one roof.
Already a cornerstone of Flint, the market is ready and excited to play a bigger role in the further redevelopment of downtown. The market has been at its current location, 420 East Boulevard Drive for 74 years, since 1940. Prior to that it was actually located right in the heart of downtown as early as 1905 where it stayed for 35 years. The market was managed through the City of Flint until 2002 when Uptown Reinvestment Corporation (URC) stepped in to preserve it under failing circumstances. URC has managed the market since that time and has facilitated this exciting opportunity for market vendors.
“The June 21st grand opening marks the beginning of a new era for the market, the vendors and the community,” said Dick Ramsdell, Market Manager adding,” It has been a long road getting to this point. It required a lot of hard work, patience and dedication on the part of many individuals and we are so pleased with all the possibilities it has created.”
