Like a photo op in the Peninsula News Review mid May, Thursday night showed no sign of the speedbumps on the road to this year’s summer market.
The May photo showed Sidney Mayor Larry Cross shaking hands with Edward Connor, then-president of the Sidney Business Association, which runs the market. It was a clear sign that the two groups had kissed and made up after a nasty breakup over the prior months.
Thursday night was something like showing up at a dinner party and seeing your formerly broken up pals chatting and laughing like nothing had happened. It felt a bit shaky, given the history but there was hope there, too.
The market seemed to have gone ahead quite well. There was no shortage of vendor stalls to browse, despite the concession to include fewer stalls this year to allow more sightlines to Beacon Avenue businesses. The vendors were all smiles, as were the hundreds of shoppers who roamed the street.
It could be said this summer’s market wasn’t a sure thing at one point. When the town cancelled the SBA’s contract to run it just six weeks before the opening date, the future looked rather grim. But with all affected parties – the town, SBA, vendors, Beacon Avenue merchants and most importantly, the public – adamant the market had to go ahead, it did.
While the rockiest road appears to be behind us, we can’t be certain no further changes will come to the market. After Thursday’s season opener, some merchants have still complained of business lost and the SBA worries about lost revenue due to fewer vendors.
Hence, there’s no better time to support Sidney’s market and show all players how much we want it in our community.