Saturday Market #8: A Dancing Place

Saturday Market is many things to many people. To many people, Saturday Market is the place to dance. People dance during every set of the day! I remember Dave Carter telling me that Saturday Market was the first place he ever saw people dancing to his cerebral folk songs. He was amazed.

This week was a very dancey day, starting with the kids from Edison dancing while singing "The Codfish Ball." A little later, Les Etoiles de Guinée most definitely danced to their Guinean drumming, and sometimes even while drumming.




The Maya Love Band's Bob Dylan's birthday tribute set got everybody dancing and singing along, and then Kef played music that's made for group dancing, from the Balkans.



That got me thinking about all the kinds of dancing that go on at the Market. Of course I have a few photos to illustrate...


Steamy dancing (to Son Melao)


Romantic dancing (to a tango by Paul & Nancy's Love Truffle)


Ecstatic twirly hippie dancing (to just about anything)


Ecstatic jumping up and down waving your arms dancing (to Soulicious)


Dancing with a fairy (a rare treat)


Old Man Dancing (to just about everything)


Dancing S.L.U.G. Queen Slugasana (taking a break from yoga)


Dancing Pig (from the Waldorf School Players)


Flash Mob Swing Dancing (surprise!)


Gogo dancing (to The Dick Danger Band)


Dancing in kilts (The Eugene Highlanders)


Dancing with swords (belly dancers - my favorite!!)

Dance on over to the Flickr stream for more dancing photos. Let them inspire you to come on down and dance! This week I'd suggest Opal Creek's 1 PM bluegrass set for ultimate danceability...

See you there!

Saturday Market #7: Reminiscing

It was a grey Market day. Those seem like the best days for having leisurely chats, and so on this particular grey day I ended up chatting with Tom, bass player for the Jim Bronson Band, and the conga player whose name I have now forgotten... oops.



Anyway, midway through chatting about who knows what - possibly the weather - we all were suddenly reminiscing about our selling days on the Butterfly Parking Lot in the 70s. I had no idea either of them were Market old timers, but if you talk to anybody in Eugene long enough, they will likely have stories to tell of when they were a vendor. Tom sold felt mobiles and crib bumpers and other baby goodies that were made by his wife, at both Eugene and Portland Markets. The conga player made assorted wood items as I recall. It was fun to discover fellow old timers and remember setting up on the slanting parking lot.

That conversation reminded me that I had a bunch of photos from the archives sitting in my computer since last May's birthday celebration. So I just uploaded fifty of them for your amusement and nostalgic pleasure. Even if you were never at the Market in the 70s, it's delightful to look at the clothes and the haircuts (or non hair cuts) and the wooden Market booths.


fine example of a non haircut on Reverend Chumleigh - is he still wearing that leopard leotard?


yes, we did sell macrame plant hangers - nice ones!

Check out that fine dashiki there on the right. Actually, I have one similar to that. Honestly, I don't think we dress any differently around here than we did in 1978.



You'll also see quite a few Market folk who are still selling all the time. Like Gil Dunaway, on the left with his candles in the photo above.


Also Dana & Colleen at Dana's Cheesecake Bakery...


Michael Bertotti selling crystals...


And even me, selling clown marionettes.

I'll get around to adding more one of these days. In the meantime, go take a walk down memory lane. Please add names, memories and comments to the photos if you can.

Here it is as a slide show, you can click through to see bigger versions.


Have fun, then come make some modern day memories with us this Saturday!

Saturday Market #6: Generosity and Creativity

This past Saturday was our annual Mothers' Day Giveaway. For years now in honor of Mothers' Day and the Market's Birthday, we've asked Marketeers to donate things, and then given them away. This chair brimming with cool Market stuff is just one fifth of what I gave away in the course of the day - more than seventy people won and got to pick their treat from that hour's offerings. It makes for a very blissful vibe at the stage that spills out all through the Marketplace.



A little girl picked Diane McWhorter's pink rose with the ribbon, and the astonished quizzical look on her face when I told her it was made of dried jello was priceless. People give really nice things, not just their least expensive items. Beautiful jewelry, clothing, art, all kinds of goodies. See that plant hanger with the pink flower pot? It was donated by Craig Butler and when I called Sally from Kudana's name, she practically dived to get it.



Within moments she was proudly showing me how she'd turned it into a percussion stand for the afternoon!

It's a really busy day for me, collecting and sorting out the abundance and redistributing it all day long. After Kudana started playing, I got to take a bit of a walk around the neighborhood. I must have been inspired by the vast variety of things I'd been given to give away, because when I looked at my pictures they were filled with an equally vast variety of things found within 100 ft of the stage in an eight minute time span.


Little wooden race cars at Tom Savelich's booth.


Colorful metal garden stakes at Bob Hall's.


Carol Berg-Caldwell's fanciful bird houses.


A plethora of crocheted hair flowers by Blacita Telles.


A cascade of gorgeous necklaces by Maria Moule.


Really fun dresses made from t-shirts by Kendra Brock.

This is just what got caught in my camera. Any 100 ft. span of Market has this much and more, fresh from the hands of creative and generous Marketeers.

And that blissful vibe? It's here every week whether we give stuff away or not... Come and grab some!

Saturday Market #5: Market is Made of Variety

Looking through my photos from Saturday, I'm marveling at how many different little stories and events manage to gel into a Market day. I've know this for as long as I've been a Marketeer, but the variety always amazes me.


This particular day starts out with the chaotic sounds of the Willagillespie Marimba Ensemble. It takes them a little while to settle down and play together, but their teacher Molly Nord does a great job of getting them all on the same beat. Then they sound sweet and melodic.


I'm so happy that Savanna Coen has decided to have her first ever CD release party at the Market. She raised the money to fund it in the most 21st century way, online! She made her first appearance three years ago at Market, and now at twelve, she's an accomplished performer with a gorgeous voice. The crowd goes wild.


Meanwile, inspired by the Royal Wedding, Colleen at Dana's Cheesecake suggests in a most 21st century way via Facebook, that we wear our wedding hats to Market. Nicki knows how to make the most of cheesecake booth craft supplies and makes a stylish fascinator on the spot!


A customer has seen this suggestion on Facebook, crafts her own beautiful fascinator and wears it proudly to Market to join in the fun.


Then suddenly in the middle of the day there was a swing dance flash mob. I love when that happens.


Later I have a great chat with my neighbor Bob Prine, of Knucklehead Woodworks. I make his specially built booth the Beautiful Booth of the Month for May, click through and see what I found out.


Cameron Greer spends the afternoon embroidering this patch on site, much of it sitting stage side, enjoying the music of Uncle Stumbles.


At the end of the day Ritta asks me to take a picture of Royce and Ritta with a sweet charicature of Royce and Ritta by fellow Marketeer Candace Westberg.

That was just my day. Imagine, everybody on the blocks had a slightly or very different day from mine! This next one will be different again...

Come see what happens, see you there!