MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – This Wednesday evening, Downtown Marquette held its second mid-week market of the summer. Over 40 venders are signed up for the festivities this year, including plenty of new faces, like Emma Brown, co-founder of the Barn Cat Collective.
“It’s been great, I feel like we’ve met so many fun people. I just love sitting here for three hours and just hanging out, everybody’s so nice,” she said.
While it’s the first year for the art collective, Brown and her downstate business partner have already extended to five communities in Michigan, selling handmade artwork, ceramics, and other fun gifts.
“We’re now in Midland, Beaverton, Traverse City, Marquette, and Harbor Springs,” she explained. “I also sew, so I’ve used a lot of scraps from other work to make cat toys that I stuff with catnip. We also have a lot of stickers, people love the stickers.”
Although the evening called for a chance for rain, vendors say it hardly put a dent in an expected amount of visitors.
“People love art, they love to come down and see what the locals are making,” said David Pratt, owner of clothing company, Jebu.
And while still early into the season, the crowds are only going to keep growing.
“I think it’s on par for what we expect, obviously it gets busier as the tourists pile in but it’s busy from the get-go,” said Pratt.
Rain or shine, the markets will take place each Wednesday evening from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 through August 26.
