Street Fairs Return to Grant County After a Booming First Year
The 2023 Grant County Street Fairs season will run from April through September. To become a vendor, contact RAIN’s Grant County Venture Catalyst Zach Denney: [email protected]
Shortly after Zach was hired to serve as Grant County’s Venture Catalyst he organized a harvest festival where 20 vendors and 750 people turned out for the “Best of the West Harvest Festival” he helped to organize, Denney had a good sense of what the community needed: a place-based approach to entrepreneurial development, including an incubator for makers, artisans, and wantrepreneurs.
Following the success of the Harvest Festival, Denney launched a pilot program for street fair vendors and staged seven street fairs in 2022 across John Day, Canyon City, and Prairie City. Each event averaged 10-15 vendors, 100-200 people, and $2,000-$3,000 in sales. This year, he is planning 21 street fairs in Grant County, with the first one slated for April 7th at the “Pit Stop” in John Day.
RAIN Catalysts’ approach is “investigative/not prescriptive” – which means we listen to the entrepreneurs we find, assess their needs, and spin-up programming that meets them exactly where they are (both geographically and within their business). Zach pivoted to create programs that delivered what Grant County entrepreneurs needed. His approach has proven to be very beneficial for the participating entrepreneurs / vendors. The street fairs provide low-risk, low-cost opportunities for these entrepreneurs to develop customers, market-test their products, and practice business fundamentals, like tracking sales. One of the success stories from this program is Fire & Ice Cream, a small-batch ice cream maker that is now preparing to open their first commercial space in downtown John Day.
Typically held on Friday evenings between the Spring and early Fall, the Grant County street fairs have also provided a beloved new outdoor gathering space for local communities.
Based in part on the success of the Grant County Street Fairs, RAIN Catalysts developed a Holiday Market Vendor Bootcamp program that can be accessed for free on YouTube.
7 Tips for a Successful Street Fair from Venture Catalyst Zach Denney:
Have at least 10 vendors, including 2 food and beverage vendors
Pick a good location where people want to spend time
Offer some kind of entertainment, such as a contest
Use music or a PA system to maintain a festive atmosphere
Make allies not adversaries of neighboring businesses
Weeknights can be actually be better than weekends
Be ready to pivot quickly if your chosen day, time, or location isn’t successful
