Moon Market brings shoppers downtown during festival
With the Summer Moon Festival comes the Moon Market, which ran Friday from 4-9 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. The market
started at the parkway by the Neil Armstrong statue, ran east down Auglaize Street to the railroad tracks and headed south down Park
Street. This was the third year for the market.
The idea came about after the Chamber of Commerce approached Elizabeth Selover, Deb Fischer and
Beth Klosterman about doing something for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing after Selover and Klosterman put together the Rustic Farmhouse market at the fair grounds twice yearly.
“They knew we had the experience to bring in vendors and we had a good vendor following,” Selover said.
She also was intrigued by the benefits it could bring to downtown.
“We have over 60 vendors, and they’re all hand-picked vendors,” she said. “They’re unique.”
By unique, each is a small business that make or sell their own items and include plants, candle
makers, pottery makers and jewelry vendors.
“Pretty much anything that you’re looking for, the Moon Market can supply that,” she said.
Setting something like this up starts with receiving applications, available at rusticfarmhousemarket. com.
“We go through the applications and look at the images that [potential vendors] selected and accept you,” she said.
Once a vendor’s accepted, Selover, Fischer and Klosterman start measuring the spaces needed and plan where to place them.
“We try to split them up so we don’t have the same vendors next to
each other so they’re not competing,” she said.
Selover said this was the largest number of vendors at the festival,
and she has a theory as to why.
“Mainly because we’re down Auglaize Street,” she said. “The first year we did it for the 50 year [anniversary] we were down Willipie
Street,” she said. “We didn’t have as much space to provide that many vendors.”
Besides the vendors, the market brings in shoppers who might not otherwise experience Wapakoneta.
“I think we have a pretty awesome downtown, it’s charming,” she said. “There’s a lot of shops and businesses [that] are great and I love coming to.”
And last year the market was the
only thing allowed to happen besides the beer tent following the start of COVID-19.
When selecting vendors, Selover looks for a variety of different things because she doesn’t want a
surplus of any one thing, including boutiques, woodworkers and metalworkers.
She also pays attention to potential setup, the quality of work and what a potential vendor would sell.
Selover wants a “clean, fresh look,” and a nice setup “where you can tell that they put time and effort.”
As far as goals, her main one was to get people familiar with the
moon market and have people from throughout the state to shop.
Besides her own work, Selover recommended Anthony Grace Boutique and Bushel and a Peck.
“I love seeing shoppers come through with bags and being excited about going into the different tents and finding that unique gift,”
she said. “I love small businesses doing well.”
Alexis Nagel was there from Expressions of Grace selling mugs, pottery, planters and artwork. This was her first time at the Moon market.
“I love it,” she said. “It is such a good atmosphere,” she said. “It has been a wonderful experience.”
Leroy Eddy, a Wapakoneta resident, was out Friday just to see what was happening, but stopped by Auglaize Embroidery to see friend Christy Bailey.
“I’m just getting out and about enjoying the people,” he said.
Bailey, the new owner of Auglaize Embroidery, admitted this was her first time selling.
But so far, so good.
“We’ve really enjoyed it,” she said.
Jessica Olson of JJ’S Boutique (based in Dayton) was selling ‘modern farmhouse decor’.
Like Bailey, this was her first market. She said she was inspired to try it because she follows Rustic Farmhouse on social media and had done their shows at the fairgrounds.
“I really just loved Wapakoneta after that experience,” she said. “I think it’s a really great town and really friendly people, so I thought I would try the Moon Market.”
Olson said she planned to come back for another Moon Market besides a holiday market this fall.
Patty Bonfiglio came from Shawnee to check out the crafts.
“I think the Moon Market is fantastic,” she said. “[I’m] surprised how many vendors there are.”
Besides co-running the market, Selover teaches ceramics at Wapakoneta High School and owns a pottery business (E. Selover Pottery).