Coordinators explain what goes into prepping for the festival
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Food, Arts and crafts, live music, and children’s activities. Those are the big attractions for Columbus’ Market Street Festival.
But it takes a lot of people and a lot of time to prepare for this weekend of fun.
“We literally prepare for Market Street the entire year,” said Barbara Bigelow, Executive Director of Main Street Columbus.
And, Executive Director of Main Street Columbus Barbara Bigelow said doing the “same old thing” just isn’t good enough.
“Every year we try to make it bigger and better, and of course, this year, we brought the food court closer in,” said Bigelow. “This year, we made some changes logistically; we made the festival more walkable for people, and we are very excited about that.”
This year features more than 150 arts and crafts vendors, over 20 food vendors, and a car show.
Market Street Festival Coordinator Amber Brislin said she is always working on ways to improve the Market Street experience, and she believes that’s what brings vendors back year after year.
“We take care of our vendors. A lot of these are repeat vendors, and there are new vendors,” said Brislin. “They all have preferences as far as what space they want to be located in, and they count on us. They also commend us on how nice and organized our festival is, and that is something that keeps people coming back.”
Brislin said this year’s festival includes stilt walkers and jugglers.
Jonathan Miller will be in the food court for the 14th year in a row.
He said all of the work involved in setting up and getting prepared for the festival is worth it to be able to serve the public.
“It is a strong tradition in the community.” said I like to come out and be able to support community events and see the people. I have a lot of regular customers that come back year after year, and I enjoy meeting them and seeing them and being able to serve them.”
The 29th annual Market Street Festival runs from 9 am to 5 pm tomorrow.
