Lower Main Street will be closed early morning Sunday so crews and vendors can prepare for the 19th season of The Park Silly Sunday Market, the annual, semi-weekly open-air, family- and eco-friendly artisan fair.
“Our crews start preparing the street at 6 a.m.,” said Michelle McDonald, director of operations. “The vendors come in at 7, and the market opens at 10 a.m. and ends at 5.”
Crews are back at it at 5 p.m. to help take down the booths so Main Street can open to traffic around 6:15 p.m., said Executive Director Kate McChesney.
“And we’re ‘no-trace left behind’ by 7:15 p.m.,” she said. “We’re working with Momentum Recycling to take care of our food-waste management.”
This year’s market will run rain or shine June 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29; July 13 and 20; Aug. 31 and Sept. 7, 14 and 21, according to McChesney.
“On the finalé day, we’ll be open until 6 p.m.,” she said.
Throughout the market’s season, Park City residents and visitors will experience business upstarts, including “kid-preneurs,” live music and food, McChesney said.
“We have hundreds of applications come through, and we’re limited to how many we can invite because of how many days we have,” she said. “We look at every application. We read the stories of how they started and why they are doing what they’re doing. If it’s heartfelt, they take a little more precedence.”
This year’s vendor count for each market is just shy of 200, as it has been in the past, McDonald said.
“We also offer free spaces to three to four nonprofits every day,” she said.
Supporting local nonprofits is one of the missions of the Silly Market because it is one, McDonald said.
“We know how important support is because ‘it takes a village,’” she said. “So, what we have to offer is access to our community and visitors, which is a great opportunity to get their messages out there, whatever their missions are.”
Park Silly Sunday Market’s mission is to “make sure we continue to be a free event and have spots for business incubation, launch what we call ‘kid-preneurs’ and entrepreneurs,” McChesney said.
A past “kid-preneur” example is 48 House, a jewelry-design business started by Graham and Ethan Reynolds in 2005, when they were the respective ages of 11 and 8, McDonald said.
“They are now doing designs for Michael Kors USA and Elizabeth Plum of Plumb Line Jewelry, who is featured in the Sundance Catalog, (now known as Sundance Living),” she said.
Some food-loving entrepreneurs who have secured brick-and-mortar shops include Red Bicycle Breadworks, 11 Hauz Jamaican foods, Nosh Park City, Freshies Lobster Co. and Sammy’s Bistro, McChesney said.
“I get to order take-out from Nosh 365 days out of the year, and Michelle and I are at Sammy’s Bistro all the time,” she said with a laugh. “It’s nice to know that you not only helped incubate these businesses, but you’ve also become a regular.”
Spencer’s Smokin’ Grill is another Park Silly veteran that continues to participate in the market, McDonald said.
“(Owner) Mark Spencer been such a huge support for us over the years, and until the day they don’t want to come, we’ll invite them,” she said.
In addition to business and eateries, other talents — such as singer-songwriter Sophia Dion — have emerged from the Silly Market, McDonald said.
“Sophia used to play little sets on the Park Silly Sunday Market stage, in between selling her Make Your Own Monster Pillows,” she said. “Now she’s playing big stages and opening for bands all around California, the Intermountain West and East Coast.”
Some of those artists with whom Dion has shared the stage include Michael Bolton, John Batiste and John Oates.
“We hope she swings by the market during the summer and gives us a heads up so we can put a microphone in front of her,” McDonald said.
Park Silly Sunday Market’s live music is programmed with Mountain Town Music, a nonprofit that produces, fosters and supports live music “that enhances the quality of life for Park City and Summit County residents and visitors,” according to its mission.
“This Sunday, we’ll have one of our longtime kid musicians, Lian Given, kick off the main stage performances,” McDonald said. “And we have 17 other youth musicians who have signed up to busk on Main Street all summer long.”
Celebrating Park Silly Sunday Market’s 19th anniversary makes McDonald speechless.
“You have to stop and think about how long that is,” she said. “And then you think how we’ve evolved from the little flea-market into the full-on street festival it is now. It’s staggering.”
In keeping with Park Silly Sunday Market’s green-minded approach, McChesney and McDonald encourage attendees to bus, bike or walk to the events.
“We have a secure and free bike valet, run by Park City High School students, and since we are a special event, paid parking is in full effect around the market on Silly Sundays,” McChesney said.
Anyone interested in volunteering can do so by registering by visiting parksillysundaymarket.com, McDonald said.
“We are always looking for volunteers,” she said. “If you visit our website, you will see an ‘apply’ drop down, and the volunteer link is there.”
McChesney and McDonald plan to continue the Park Silly Sunday Market at least for another five years.
“We finally have a long-term contract through 2030 with Park City Municipal, and that makes us feel really good,” McDonald said. “It also makes our vendors and sponsors feel really good.”
Park Silly Sunday Market
- When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., June 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29; July 13 and 20; Aug. 31 and Sept. 7 and 14; 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sept. 21
- Where: Lower Main Street
- Cost: Free
- Web: parksillysundaymarket.org
