Rough Market Day (and week)

This past week was our fourth market, and was it ever brutal. It also happened to be the same day that we decided to introduce pomme frites (french fries), which didn’t go off as well as we’d thought, for a variety of reason. It’s never easy modifying your gig, especially when you’ve worked so hard at getting things to run smoothly, but there is also value to trying new things.

This particular day was rough because not only were we venturing into new territory, but the weather really slammed us. Then again, that’s life in the wilds of New England. The decision to make fries complicated the setup significantly, and meant that we were going to have to bring more stuff, including cooking oil that would have to be transported home while still hot. That proved to be a logistical conundrum.

We were also without A, who was at hockey camp, lucky for her. This, of course, created a situation in and of itself, because we were not going to be able to get her there on time. I tried frantically to arrange a ride for her, but several of our friends were in the same boat, and were searching for transportation, as well. We finally worked out a ride, and it went something like this. A would go over to her friend’s house early, around 11:00AM. They had to be at the rink around 3:00, so that left them the better part of the day to hang. Fortunately, a few of the other girls came over so I’m sure they had a party. One of the parents would take the group the rink, and then after the market, I would go and pick up A. Then we’d go home, eat some supper, and I could clean up all the market stuff. Nothing but fun on our end.

Setting up for the market was a bit of a downer, mainly because of the rain. The whole time I kept thinking that nobody was going to show up, why are we doing this? Plus, everything gets wet, including us. On a bright note, we were able to bring N’s bike, so at least he could have some fun while we chase the American Dream. We got to the market early as planned, set up the stuff, and waited. It was pouring rain, and with a slight wind, there was no relief from the deluge. Several of the vendors took the common sense approach and didn’t even show up, but we stuck it out, and the few vendors that did come commiserated with each other.

At some point, the rain did finally stop, and probably with about an hour to go, the sun came out, making for a pleasant day, cool and breezy. We even sold our falafels, though not that many people bought fries, much to our surprise. Bear in mind that we are still learning, so changes will happen, and we’ll have to modify our gig, but it was good to at least get things moving.

All in all, we did okay, despite the rough beginning. It just goes to show you, you never know how things are going to turn out. We were wet and tired, though N was caked in mud and having a blast, so that’s a positive. We also learned a few things about how to do the falafels and fries, so that alone made it all worthwhile.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Anthony Maw for the pic.