Local
article by Jackie Hostetler photos courtesy Shawnee Chamber of Commerce
seasonal
Moonlight Market: Picture Perfect Fun! A new twist on the traditional farmers market is a hit in Shawnee.
P
icture this: The sun is rising on a Saturday morning in Shawnee. Area artisans, farmers, and makers arrive to the local farmers market at dawn to display their wares. Vendors and patrons alike gather to shop, eat, and socialize. It’s the quintessential picture of life in a sweet Midwestern town. Now, replace the sunrise with the moon rise. Replace “Saturday morning” with “Thursday evening.” Replace the “dawn” with the “dusk.” Everything else is the same—including the sweet Midwestern town. In May 2021, the town of Shawnee tried a new approach to its farmers
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market. The venture has been a smashing success. According to Shawnee Communications Manager, Julie Breithaupt, the city’s Saturdaymorning farmers market was successful enough though it may have left a bit to be desired. “We were facing some challenges with our farmers market,” says Breithaupt. “There are a number of other farmers markets in the area on Saturday mornings, including Overland Park and Lenexa. These are longer-standing, bigger, more well-attended farmers markets. Instead of trying to compete with these on Saturday mornings, we took a different look at it.”
A New Look What resulted was the Moonlight Market. On the third Thursday of every month, May through October, the city sponsors a new kind of farmers market. The Moonlight Market not only showcase traditional farmers market vendors, offering fresh fruit and vegetables but also highlights nontraditional wares, as well as a number of downtown businesses. “We were looking for a play on the traditional farmers market that might get more people into the downtown area,” says Breithaupt. “We have so many new businesses and so much growth. It’s really become more of a destination. We
