Nestled between Main Street and North Street, a collection of small business owners will offer students Saturday, wares of fresh produce, flowers, homemade preserves, gifts and other treats at the grand opening of the Main Street Market.
Organizers hope to draw in a younger crowd for the event’s grand opening downtown between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The Market evolved from the success of the weekly Red Stick Farmer’s Market occurring every Saturday on Fifth Street, where local farmers meet to sell fresh produce straight from their trucks, said Leslie Gieser, a Main Street Market volunteer.
“To celebrate the grand opening, there will be a parade, cooking demonstrations and a number of kid’s activities, including a petting zoo,” Gieser said.
The Baton Rouge Economic and Agricultural Development Alliance (BREADA) added The Main Street Market to the roster of plans to revive Baton Rouge’s downtown area.
The Market is one of the Downtown Development’s most ambitious moves to revive downtown.
“It will serve as a great equalizer, a place that people from different stations in life meet in an unhurried, relaxed setting and interact with one another,” the organization said.
Besides offering fresh produce, vendors such as TaylorMade Gourmet Food, Rocket Fajitas, Noodles, Serpo’s Jambalaya Shoppe and CC’s Coffee House will sell food at lunch counters.
Geiser said the purpose of the Market is found in its motto, “Food, Fun and the Seasonal Harvest.” She also said one of the missions of the Market is to serve as a small business incubator.
According to the Market’s Web site, long-term goals of the Market include opening a commercial kitchen, offering a community garden, offering retail educational classes for small business owners and classes to community members teaching nutrition and gardening.