Markets

Yogi Berra once said "Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded." This reminds me of when things grow so large and get out of control or depart form their original simple mission.

Recently I commented on another blog about how big the Crab, Seafood and Wine Festival has gotten that it can never return to its humble roots where it was a fun thing to attend.

I also commented on Astoria Sunday Market. Aside from the crowds, the dogs and the strollers that that make this weekly event difficult to maneuver through, I find myself missing the little market it once was when it was held on Saturdays by the Astoria train station. In the beginning you went there to buy fruit, vegetables and plants off the back of someone’s pick-up truck. You could buy some wooden ware for gardens. It was totally agricultural in nature. If you came here after the demise of our old Saturday Market, you missed something that was really sweet. The present Sunday Market is more like a Wal*Mart in comparison.

At the present market you can buy all sorts of crap that you don’t really need which has absolutely nothing to do with agriculture or common sense for that matter. I mean does anyone really need a PVC marshmallow shooter?

The sea of white vendor tents without local business licenses brings to mind Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves as they spent their days crafting their wares and going from market to market in a hopeful attempt to remove lucre from the locals.

When I used to go to the old Saturday Market, I would leave feeling refreshed and grateful. When I leave the present Sunday Market I feel tired, angry and abused. I wish people in power would realize that bigger isn’t better. It never is.

Sunday Market, R.I.P.

I’ll admit it, I’m avoiding Sunday Market. It is being killed by its popularity. Like Yogi Berra said, “No body goes there anymore because it’s too crowded.”

I went to Sunday Market last Sunday, which is the second time for me this year. It has gotten worse than I remember it ever being in the past. Not only are there far too many dogs under foot, and far too many childless strollers and double sized strollers being pushed around, but the crowds of people standing and having a social hour in the middle of the street really restricts foot traffic. It’s worse than standing in line at Disney Land. Sometimes it is easier to walk around the block and sneak into the back of the tent you want to buy something from.

I ran into F. Lee and he asked if I was counting the dogs and at that point I had counted fifteen dogs, nine strollers and ten groups of people chatting not letting foot traffic through.

It makes me fondly miss our old Saturday Market at the train station. There was a lot of room and it even seemed more special when it was smaller. It’s sad that there is no where else with a larger area where Sunday Market could happen. It would be nice to spread it out and get it out of the street where people didn’t have to cross main thoroughfares. I understand it’s all about being “down town”, but the crowds are becoming a real deterrent to commerce. We used to spend an average of $35 at each visit. Yesterday we spent $2. Maybe they make it up in volume, maybe not.

I don’t see myself returning to the Sunday Market unless it is raining. I miss being able to actually be heard asking questions of the shop keepers. Now it is such a rush just to get the hell out as quickly as you can.