This week, Hastings will host the first Maker’s Market of the season on June 13 at Levee Park. The Maker’s Market showcases artisans and makers from the area with goods ranging from homemade food and candies to jewelry to home décor. Each market runs from 5-8:30 p.m. and will host roughly 30 artisan booths with food trucks and live music from the ‘Music the Parks’ series also held in Levee Park.
“I’d love for this event to be an annual thing that becomes part of the fabric of downtown,” said Hastings Economic Development coordinator Alex Menke.
This year, six Maker’s Markets will be held throughout the summer, each coinciding with a Music in the Park event.
“We want to make sure this is an event that is synonymous with Music in the Park,” said Menke.
The other five Maker’s Markets will be held on June 27, July 11 and 25, and Aug. 8 and 27. These six events are an increase from 2023’s four Maker’s Markets, although the end goal for the markets would be to pair each Music in the Parks event with its own Maker’s Market, said Menke. Increasing from four markets to 13 in one year, however, “would be a big jump,” said Menke.
In working to expand the markets, part of the goal is also consistency: “what we’d like to see is that this is an expectation,” said Menke.
2024 marks the third year of Maker’s Markets in the city. According to Hastings Community Development Director John Hinzman, the first Maker’s Market was simply a way to “provide space for local vendors downtown.” That first Maker’s Market in 2022 was held in the alley parallel to Second Steet but has since been moved into Levee Park in order to be closer to the music.
Thirty-two artisans’ booths will be at the June 13 event with food provided by three food trucks and live music from 7-8:30 p.m. by Alligations, a Blues tribute band. For more information on Maker’s Markets, visit https://www.hastingsmn.gov/visitors/arts-entertainment/makers-market.