A new market has arrived in Victoria, thanks to the efforts of the North Park Neighbourhood Association (NPNA).
The pop-up market has been appearing at Royal Athletic Park after NPNA Executive Director Sarah Murray secured funding support from the City and the Red Cross last year.
Tara Silva then came on board as the NPNA’s market coordinator. She says the group has been working to get the same kind of products people can find at markets in Fairfield or Esquimalt while staying within their neighbourhood.
“The thought behind it is to increase food security for the North Park neighbourhood, and support our local vendors,” Silva said in an interview with Victoria Buzz.
“Primarily we are a food market, but we will dabble in some non-food vendors from the neighbourhood to support them as well. Everyone here that’s selling is local.”
Markets have been one of the few events exempted or otherwise able to conform to provincial health guidelines during the pandemic.
Organizers at the NPNA’s market, like other farmer’s markets, have to keep a record of attendee information for contact tracing and also require participants to wear masks.
The pop-up market has been running on a monthly basis since September and will be continuing until August.
After that, Silva says it depends on if they can secure consistent funding for their efforts.
“We’re hoping to keep it going, cause the word is getting out,” she said.
“We’ve been getting some good feedback from the vendors who participate and enjoy it, and from people in the area.”
The remaining scheduled dates for the NPNA pop-up market are April 18, May 16, June 20, July 18, and August 15.
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