From: Rhea Varley
To: Rhea Varley
Subject: RE: Comments on proposed September Friday night markets from Rosa Date: Wednesday, July 16, 2025 1:34:58 PM
Begin forwarded message:
From: Rosa Dixon <[email protected]>
Date: July 16, 2025 at 7:48:45 AM PDT
To: Alex Stillman <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Comments on proposed September Friday night markets CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Hey Alex, Here is my official response:
Dear Arcata Mayor and Council Members,
Thank you for considering all perspectives regarding the proposed Friday Night Markets. I fully believe that the more we can get our community engaged in local artisans and businesses, the stronger our local economy will become, and ultimately, everyone benefits.
I believe that hosting multiple events can strengthen, rather than dilute, our local arts and culture scene. The more opportunities we create for the community to engage with local artisans and businesses, the more robust our local economy becomes.
Imagine someone seeing a cool shirt at the Friday Night Market in Arcata and loving it so much that it becomes their favorite. Later, they see the same vendor at the North Country Fair, buy three more shirts, and even pick one up as a gift for someone else. This cycle not only supports our local vendors but spreads the message of Choose Humboldt in ways we can’t anticipate. The more opportunities we create to engage people with Humboldt Made goods, the more we all thrive as a community. This cycle not only supports our local vendors but also fosters a deeper connection between the community and our local products.
I understand the concern regarding the North Country Fair’s uniqueness and its importance to the community, but I believe the idea of “diluting” the event is a very narrow and selfish perspective. We’re in a time where we need to celebrate every opportunity to support local businesses, whether it’s through weekly markets or annual events. The more people are aware of the local makers and artists in our area, the more likely they are to support them.
Regarding the claim that "the most successful events are in towns that have one large annual event, not art markets every week," I would appreciate seeing the data supporting this statement. From my research, many successful communities host multiple events throughout the year, as well as weekly events such as Art Markets and Farmer Markets, each contributing to the local economy and community spirit.
Our goal should be to bring the community together, not to restrict them to one experience. Instead of seeing more events as a threat, we should view them as a chance to amplify Humboldt’s culture and economy. The collective success of all our local businesses—whether at the North Country Fair, Friday Night Markets, or any of the other events held in our amazing county —strengthens our region as a whole.
I urge you to take a broader view of this opportunity and support initiatives that elevate and celebrate our local businesses, building connections across the community. We need to shift our mindset and embrace every chance to bring people together, rather than limiting these opportunities.
For example, San Francisco's Chinatown Night Market has been recognized as one of the best in the country by USA Today. This monthly event attracts hundreds of thousands of attendees and significantly boosts local businesses.
Similarly, the Sunset Night Market drew over 20,000 attendees in 2024 and was lauded for its positive impact on the community. And just look at our own community—the Eureka Friday Night Market is something we all look forward to for the food, the culture, and the people. It’s a prime example of how such events can create lasting bonds and strengthen local economies.
These examples suggest that multiple events can coexist and even complement each other, driving economic growth and community engagement.
I believe it's essential to celebrate every opportunity to support local businesses and bring our community together. Limiting such opportunities may inadvertently hinder our collective growth. Let's work together to create a vibrant, inclusive environment where all our local businesses can thrive.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Warm regards,
Rosa Dixon
On Tue, Jul 15, 2025 at 8:36 PM Alex Stillman <[email protected]> wrote:
Alex Stillman
707-845-3900
iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: Mark Cortright <
Date: July 15, 2025 at 8:03:19 PM PDT
To: Sarah Schaefer <[email protected]>, Meredith Matthews <[email protected]>, Stacy Atkins-Salazar <[email protected]>, Alex Stillman
<[email protected]>, Kimberley White
<[email protected]>
Subject: Comments on proposed September Friday night
markets
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the
organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Arcata Mayor and Council members
My name is Mark Cortright. I’ve been a board member of
The North Country Fair since we formed a board and have been a continuous vendor in the event since its inception in 1974.
I’m writing in regards to Wednesday evening’s City council meeting, and the Arcata Chamber’s presentation and
request on having three
September Friday night markets.
I am opposed to this idea for several reasons.
The first and most important reason is that over time, it will dilute the strong sales and attendance of the North Country Fair, as this is an annual event. The public will feel over time that on any weekend in September they can go pick up art items, and that dilutes our very successful event that’s been going for over 51 years straight now. The public does not differentiate the events well; I have noticed in my many years in this business.
I have done art shows in most western states for a living for just about 50 years and the most successful events are
towns that have one large annual event - not art markets every week. This has been shown to be true, especially in the SF Bay area where there is a fair every weekend and sales are weak for all of them.
I would like you to consider this reason as many
vendors/artists depend on the North Country Fair show
income for the whole year, and travel from nearby counties and far corners of Humboldt to do the show. Diluting the show with a show every week leading up to and beyond the fair is just not fair to them. We have put on a large, wellattended event for the past 51 years and we bring in many thousands of dollars in revenue for Arcata and thousands of people for the two-day period of the fair. Putting this at risk for a few Friday events in September makes no sense, and at large cost to the city as well.
The other reason to consider if you allow the waving of fees as you did with the Kinetic Sculpture race event this past year and now maybe this art market during our season of the North Country Fair (September) I would hope that you will also wave our fees for the city ($5,000 for our nonprofit show permit) just to keep it fair and even with all Plaza events. This could be the new no-cost Plaza event policy that we all have been dreaming about.
Also on this note, the proposed three-weekend request is, as I understand it, for the city to work the barriers, setup, and clean-up, take down, security and everything that goes into a show /market. I’m hoping that this will now be what the city does for our fair as well, as this work is the hard part of any event and it’s what is the most work and money for us who put on our event.
I would just like you to consider all the ramifications to approving these markets.
Thanks for your time
Mark Cortright
Liscom Hill Pottery
McKinleyville, CA 95519
--
Rosa Dixon
Humboldt Made
707.601.1638
www.HumboldtMade.com
[email protected]
PO Box 6877, Eureka, CA
95502