Summer Market to land at Black River

A two-day open-air arts festival will arise on the bank of the Black River this weekend.

After years on the shoreline in Avon Lake, Summer Market is moving to Black River Landing, the Lorain Port Authority’s riverfront festival site, starting July 18.

It is the event’s first time in Lorain and the first time with extra safety precautions due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The unprecedented public health conditions have not dampened excitement for a new partnership between the arts fest and the Port, said Summer Market cofounder Erin Stack and Lorain Port Authority Executive Director Tom Brown.

Brown said he is “super excited.”

“Having this upscale event at our site is yet another step in showcasing the Port, our waterfront and the city of Lorain,” he said. “Erin and her team are going to totally shock a lot of people, and we cannot wait.”

Local arts lovers got a coldweather preview last year when the Winter Market was held at the Shipyards event center in Lorain.

“Every single person I have spoken to and worked with in Lorain has been absolutely amazing to work with,” Stack said.

She thanked Brown and Port and said she was “thrilled” about the partnership in Lorain.

Space needed

Stack described Summer Market as “an open-air market with a curated grouping of artists, makers, collectors, growers, treat makers and restaurant owners selling their wares in a riverside park.”

“This coastal-themed event is a fundraiser for local organizations and families in need,” she said.

The event operated for years at Avon Lake’s Veterans Memorial Park, but Summer Market outgrew that waterfront home, Stack said.

“When searching for a new location, a bigger space was key as was the parking,” Stack said. “Black River Landing is such a gorgeous park that offers us so many options.

“From the size of the park to the stage to the pavilions and parking — it’s wonderful. The pavilions have allowed us to add a Farmer’s Market component to the event this year.”

Stack predicted the event will grow to a scale reminiscent of Cleveland’s West Side Market.

Tough year

Planning for Summer Market begins in November the year before.

By March, plans generally are in place for the event, Stack said.

That was true for the 2020 event “and then the world came to a screeching halt,” Stack said.

That was the time when Ohio and other states began issuing orders to close businesses and shelter in place at home to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“Since then, I have asked myself daily … ‘Should we?

Shouldn’t we?’ All the way up to just a few weeks ago,” Stack said. “But here’s the thing, I started the Summer Market to help others in need and in the end, I decided I needed to stick with that plan this year.

“We’re an event designed to support small businesses and raise funds for organizations in need. I was going to try my hardest to make that happen.”

Helping out

Those attending will help a good cause.

Summer Market has free admission, but actually is a fundraiser because donations and proceeds are given away through Girls Give Back, the organizers’ nonprofit arm.

Stack and co-founder Kristen Weeden started Summer Market in 2006 to raise money to save a historic home in Avon Lake.

Once that home was saved, they continued helping other organizations.

This year, proceeds will go to Blessing House, a safehouse in Lorain for local families and organizations in need, and Aces, a Lorain High School mentoring program that teaches students to overcome barriers while developing educational, social, emotional and career skills.

Stack noted last year, the event planners wrote a check to Blessing House for $25,000 to use toward the new home they recently broke ground on.

“This year, our goal is to give them an additional $15,000,” she said.