Understood!! (and secured our supply of TP just in case!).
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This was fully expected and we hope everyone stays safe and healthy! See ya’ll soon!
Eric and Amiee
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you can apply ours to future events.
Thanks for the update: to all Market friends be safe see you soon!
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Thank you for letting us know and being on top of things! Is there a specific date when the RSVP portal will be open for reserving opening weekend (other than orientation)?
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Hi Justin - I think most of those details are covered here:
Chris, thanks for further info. We became an approved vendor in 2019, are a returning food truck, and have sent in our 2020 health permit and COI. We have yet to receive any early registration instruction aside from the season pass info. Is the season pass the only early option for us before general registration opens on the 25th?
For the sake of everyone else, this is off-topic for this post; please contact the help desk for individual questions. But in short, yes.
UPDATE: Opening Weekend and the following weekend (CSO) are definitely cancelled. We are in the process of contacting registered vendors and issuing refunds to those who desire them, and crediting payments towards the upcoming events for others.
We are targeting mid-May as the new starting point for Opening Weekend; May 9-10 is our preferred choice, but May 16-17 is also on the table. I’ve sent our plans to city officials for a nod of support before making things public/final. We will not be making any final/firm decisions until April 1. This is all intended to provide you with our thinking, plans and hopes.
Update 5pm: May 9-10 is cancelled; May 16-17 is the agreed-to target, provided the CDC does not revise current warnings.
Once the starting point has been identified, I will have some additional news to share. Briefly, we are planning to add three months of Chattanooga Market Saturdays to our calendar at the First Horizon Pavilion; a stripped-down, less crowded version of our Sunday Market. There will not be themes, and fewer vendors will be allowed to participate - the layout may even be modified. The goal here is to disperse our crowds a bit over two days so that people feel more comfortable/safer attending, and to allow you the opportunity to make up for some lost ground.
River Market, in the tourist district, will also be returning – different audience, different sales approach. Reactivation will depend, in large part, on overall downtown tourism strategy. Meaning, it’s not entirely up to us.
We will also be rolling out Collegedale Wednesdays starting in June; I believe that we have the makings for a great Collegedale season this year. Collegedale Sundays will restart the same weekend as Chattanooga opens.
The future is bright, we just need to find our way through the current storm. Hang tight
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Thank you Chris and team for keeping us informed! This is a hard time for everyone involved! One day we’ll look back on this and say “remember when?” but for now we just have to get through.
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Chris, will there be another registration for Opening Weekend or will the current RSVP’s be used? I still hadn’t registered (I know, I know) but will if you still think that’s best.
You can not register for anything at this point; we halted enrollments. Those that had registered are being contacted now to determine if they would prefer a refund or credit applied towards the Opening Weekend. Most have chosen to keep their Opening Weekend plans intact.
Ok. Will be watching for the next round.
UPDATE: Brandy has issued checks for all of the smaller markets, and I’ve signed them - about two inches-thick worth of checks! - they are headed to your mailbox soon. Most everyone preferred to keep their place for Opening Weekend, so those fees have been applied to the future date. The refunds are mainly for Collegedale, River, Erlanger and SipTN (which will be rescheduled for June).
We are targeting May 16-17 as Opening Weekend, based on latest guidance. As mentioned previously, we are going to wait unti April 1 or so before firming that up - the next two weeks are likely to be vital in this campaign, so we wait.
Everyone has been quite generous through this process, and it’s great to see our community band together. The self-sacrifice and help given to others is heartwarming.
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Hi Chris. Wouldn’t the market be considered as “essential services” for the farm and food vendors? I’m no lawyer by any means and wouldn’t want to risk anyone’s health but our farmers and food folks this is their livelihood and I know they have to be hurting. My understanding is the bans don’t apply to essential services. I’m sure our professional vendors would take all the precautionary measures and then some to protect their customers , fellow vendors, and themselves. Booths could be set up every other spot for distancing. Just some thoughts I think about them everyday.
Good question. I have been working directly with health and government officials, and we are more of a risk to public health as a mass gathering than a benefit as a local food system during this particular chapter of life.
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Hoping there was a way to put systems into place( wipe stations, every other booth, social distancing: maybe putting feet decals or makers on the floor so people know how far to stand away. etc.) to allow them to provide purchasing opportunities for the public in light of the current shortages and allow them to keep the lights on.
I understand, and appreciate your brainstorming with us. For now, our best approach to move through this quickly is to help with crowd disruption and hope it helps to minimize the duration that we must remain closed.
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