There was a scattering of messages from people across several locations, forums, etc about our markets this weekend. To clarify:
- All events are held rain or shine, unless cancelled by public officials/market staff due to unsafe conditions.
- Historically, River Market is the only location that has been cancelled at least once per year due to the complete lack of shelter; we hardly ever cancel or modify any other location.
And here’s the most important part:
- If a market/event is cancelled, the announcement will be posted to this vendor forum as soon as the decision is made. Everyone has access to this website (http://vendors.chattanoogamarket.com), even those who are not market vendors, so it’s simple to check to see if a cancellation has occurred. It also works great from mobile phones.
- Secondarily, we will attempt notify the registered participants of the event by email through our ticketing platform. But emails sometimes get lost, sent to junk folders and otherwise are imperfect; the forum announcement is 100% guaranteed.
- We typically do not check/respond to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, email, voicemail, or even forum posts on event days; we are busy making the event happen! If a notice of cancellation is not on the vendor forum, the event is still expected to occur.
We understand the efforts/anxieties associated with weather and outdoor events, thus we try to make decisions (and announcements) as soon as reasonably possible - the night before is our preference. Violent and unexpected weather is an exception – and apparently global pandemics. We did shut down the Erlanger Market during setup about a year ago, with zero notice. Let’s hope that never happens again.