The only way to know bad weather was on the way was by the stinging winds through the vendors” tents and the uneven smattering of cold rain.
By Moscow standards, the Farmers Market was a ghost town Saturday – especially for students” first week back, said Barry McGarrah, the market manager. Main Street was far from empty, though. With several hundred people coming and going, the vendors who remained open stayed busy.
McGarrah said that of the 85 regular vendors, only 75 were at the market Saturday. The market volunteers and scheduled live musicians also cancelled for the weekend due to the smoky weather.
While McGarrah said there was a discussion about whether to close the market early, closing the market entirely was never something they considered.
“In 38 years, (the market) has never shut down,” McGarrah said. “We didn”t want to start today.”
At the end of the Farmers Market, there was one vendor that had had a line across the street since opening at 9 a.m. Under the tent at Humble Burger, the workers sang while they assembled burgers.
Irish Martos | Argonaut
Visitors to Moscow Farmers Market look over fresh produce through the rain and haze Saturday. Live music acts canceled due to the smoke.
“People like us because we try to do something simple and straightforward,” said Nate Wolff, a Humble Burger cook.
On the opposite end of the market, where the crowd was markedly thinner, Kelly Kingsland was selling her vegetables. Kingsland said, like many other vendors at the market, shutting down business for the day was never an option. Kingsland, who co-owns and operates Affinity Farms in Moscow, said she had already done all the work harvesting her produce during the week, and if she didn”t sell it Saturday, she had nothing else to do with it.Wolff said Humble Burgers are made in front of customers using regionally centered ingredients, such as produce from the Moscow Food Co-op and local vendors, local beef and bread from Panhandle Artisan Bread Co., another vendor at the Farmers Market.
Kingsland said she noticed thinner crowds on Saturday. While she said it was possible the lighter crowds affected revenue for the day, she was still selling produce at a decent pace.
“People are loyal,” she said of the Muscovites who frequent the Farmers Market.
University of Idaho students Brooke Fackenthall and Darian Blair said the weather and smoke wasn”t even a consideration when deciding to come to the market – that”s just how they had planned to spend their Saturday morning.
In fact, Blair said with the breeze it felt nice out. The only real difference she could see at the market was that there was no band playing.
There was one musician at the market, but he wasn”t playing on the main drag. Talan Wilhelm doesn”t believe it”s fair for the market to charge musicians to perform.
He settled on a bench outside Café Artista, across the street from the market, with his tips jar in tow and Muffin, a black cat, perched on his shoulder. As market patrons crossed the street, many paused to enjoy his playing and pet Muffin.
Wilhelm said he”s been performing across the region for 20 years. He”s based in Spokane, but said he tries to make it down to Moscow every two weekends. The tips, Wilhelm said, are OK – what he really loves though is brightening other people”s days.
“My job is making other people happy,” Wilhelm said. “From that, I get what I need – food, cat food. I got these shoes for $11 at the secondhand store, and I spend $5 a night at the camp grounds basically camping out.”
Hannah Shirley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @itshannah7