Merrittonians taking a Saturday stroll this summer will be able to visit the Merritt & District Chamber of Commerce’s Quilchena Avenue Street Market, returning after a brief pandemic caused hiatus.
The street market is a joint venture between the Chamber, Community Futures Nicola Valley (CFNV), Nicola Valley Farmer’s Market, and the City of Merritt which kicked off in the summer of 2018. The goal of the market is to support local business and draw attention to Merritt’s downtown core, the revitalization of which has long been a topic in the business community.
“We’re all working together to bring back that sense of community,” said Joe Nemeth, Loan Officer for CFNV. “I think it’s just exciting to see that maybe we’ve got a better summer coming than the last few.”
“People have been sending in applications to join the market, through the Chamber of Commerce website. I’ve been seeing a handful of those every day. It looks like we’ll have a great turnout pretty well all summer long.”
CFNV says the Quilchena Saturday Street Market and its events have been a great success in years past, with some not even wanting to go home.
“The turnout was just unbelievable. It was almost difficult to close the market and get the street back open,” joked Nemeth.
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event has been on hold since summer of 2020, but looks to come back stronger than ever.
“We want to bring back some fun into our city centre. We’re excited about it,” said Stephanie Moore, economic recovery advisor for the City of Merritt. “We also have the Nicola Valley Farmers Market attending, but we’re also taking other vendors through the Chamber registration.”
The market will take place on the following Saturdays from 9:30am until 2pm:
May 21, 2022
June 18, 2022
July 9, 2022
July 30, 2022
August 20, 2022
Registration fees are $20 for members of the Chamber as well as non-profits, and $30.00 for other businesses. Registration can be completed online at: https://bit.ly/38DlFef.
