Market in the Meadow is back with a new logo
For the past five years, volunteers at Forest Meadow Junior High have felt a little snakebit. The pandemic shut down Market in the Meadow, their wildly successful fundraiser, in 2020 and 2021 to keep hordes of visitors (and their germs) out of the building. Construction to transform the junior high into a middle school nixed the event in 2022 and 2023. Sixth graders arrived on campus for the first time in 2024, and administrators asked for an additional one-year delay to get students settled.
Finally, the Forest Meadow Middle School PTA is ready to host Market in the Meadow. With three grades back in the building for the first time in 27 years, the funding boost is needed now more than ever.
Louise Boll and Kristi Kendall are no novices to the event. Each will be dropping kids off at college just before checking their third child in at FMMS, and each is leading the market for the second time.
“I was chair in 2017, and I loved it,” said Kendall. “Louise was chair in 2019, and her co-chair had to drop out for medical reasons two weeks before the market. I didn’t even have kids in the school then, but I jumped in to co-chair with her because I love being part of it. Louise is awesome. We love working together.”
“Kristi was a godsend,” said Boll. “Market in the Meadow takes a lot of work, but it’s so much fun. You meet people because it’s a community event. Both of us were like, we’re in.”
During the five-year break, administration of the market, particularly management of the vendors, dramatically changed. Paper maps and contracts were previously sent and returned via snail mail. Accepting vendors, choosing booth locations and making payments now happens online.
“That was something we really wanted to change this time,” said Boll. “The mail and paperwork made things time intensive. Now it’s so much easier.”
Boll and Kendall have a team of volunteers handling food, entertainment and other details. They’ll welcome more than 1,000 shoppers and raise about $40,000 for the classroom “extras” which support teachers and boost student outcomes. They’ve used social media to recruit a mix of 156 new and returning merchants, focusing on community-based merchants, rather than those who travel in from around the country. They visit other markets and bazaars to find vendors with top notch goods.
“We’re working hard to keep the momentum we had (before the pandemic),” said Boll. “Everyone is super excited to see it come back.”
“The most challenging thing is filling all the booths, making sure that we have quality, family-oriented vendors,” said Kendall. “I love seeing them move all their stuff in, and then opening the doors for the first time and letting all the shoppers in. I love it.”
Market in the Meadow was first held at the school in 1984, and some have wondered if neighborhood markets and bazaars may have run their course. Each year, though, more vendors and markets pop up.
“Most of these vendors are boutique stores selling online only,” said Boll, explaining that most don’t occupy a brick-and-mortar shop. “There’s always something new and fun to find.”
If you haven’t had a chance to tour Forest Meadow, the market will be your chance to peek inside. The booths will be spread across the building’s new wider, brighter spaces, showing off the school’s improved natural light, high ceilings and open concept. Instead of offering cafeteria food in the Charger Café, volunteers will transform that space into a sports lounge, with college and pro football streaming on the big screen. Just outside they’ll host food trucks under the pavilion. Care to skip the crowds? A $20 VIP pass will give you early entrance (and a chance at early parking) on Saturday morning.
The biggest change for shoppers may be the dates. Market in the Meadow, originally billed as a “holiday gift sale” was traditionally held in mid-October. This year’s event will be Nov. 8 and 9.
“Our community one hundred percent supports it,” said Boll. “It’s a great place for kids to volunteer. We try not to have it on Homecoming weekend, because that’s just too busy for families, plus we want to get high schoolers to come help set up.”
“I love opening the door and seeing all the people come together,” said Kendall. “I love seeing the grandparents and the parents and the kids. Whole generations come. I love this community. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”
If you’re interested in becoming a merchant, learn more here.
Forest Meadow Middle School is at 9373 Whitehurst.
