SYRACUSE, N.Y (NCC NEWS) — Multiple ethnic backgrounds are now being celebrated monthly at the Syracuse Downtown Farmers Market. The addition of live entertainment of different cultures has been a big push for substantial crowds during the on going pandemic.
With the decline of customers this season due to a variety of reasons, the newly added ethnic entertainment is forcing a bigger, yet a more diverse crowd to come to the market.
Chuck McFadden has been the marketing manager and director of operations at the downtown Syracuse farmer’s market for 44 years. He believed bringing in different cultural entertainment has helped pick up the traffic this market season.
“Just to try to culture wise to try to get you know more again to just try and draw more people,” said McFadden. “The more diverse we can be, the more diverse the customer base we’re gonna grab as well.”
Previously, Black history was honored as well as Italian Heritage. For the month of September, the farmer’s market is planning to honor Hispanic cultures. The market will bring in a series of different Hispanic bands.
Additionally, new vendors have been added this year. McFadden says many vendors from previous seasons are not comfortable to sell during the pandemic. He believes bringing in new vendors that no one has seen before from the downtown Syracuse market will help bring in more traffic.
“We brought in some crafty type things,” said McFadden. “We don’t normally do that. [We did that] just to help the crowd for them to look for other than just fruits and vegetables. We have soap people, we have some bags, and we got some jams and jellies…a new garlic vendor.”
The new additions to the farmer’s market has helped attract more customers during an unpredictable time.
The downtown Syracuse farmer’s market is open every Tuesday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. until October 12th. This event is free admission next to the water fountain at Clinton Square.
