Carlsbad MainStreet kicked off its summer market season with the first Third Thursday market for the Carlsbad Downtown Farmers & Makers Market on Thursday June 15, 2023.
The Market occurs weekly on Thursday’s through September 28th from 5:30-7:30 pm, with the Third Thursday of each month being a bigger market, with more vendors and food trucks, non-profit organizations come out, and the streets get blocked off.
The market has welcomed a new manager, Victoria Martinez. Originally from El Paso, Texas, she moved to Carlsbad in 2021, and one of the many things she loves about Carlsbad is the community.
A lot of hard work and craftsmanship goes into the products sold at the market. It may be a few minutes or hours, to days, months and on. From young entrepreneurs to seasoned farmers, the market provides the community with a way to sell their homemade items, art, crafts, and produce. Dozens of vendors were on hand and hundreds of attendees came out in the warm evening sun to enjoy the Summer Fun market night.
Runyon Ranches came with their petting zoo, which allowed event attendees to gain up close and personal experiences with animals they may have never seen in real life. Bounce houses were set up to let children play, face painting is always a hit with the kids, and the Boys & Girls Club of Carlsbad was on hand with club members to help make slime with event goers. Knights from the Cavern City Renaissance Festival were interacting with kids throughout the night, and a bubble station allowed adults and kids alike to have some fun. Downtown businesses like Jill’s Fabrics, Treasured Moments, Mitchell & Cruse Architecture, and Milton’s Brewing participated in the event.
Catherine Shelton with Treasured Moments shared it was important to her to participate in MainStreet events like the Third Thursday markets to show the community what her store has to offer. Mitchell & Cruse Architecture celebrated their 10 year anniversary at the market giving out snow cones, cold water and providing games for attendees. Milton’s Brewing was able to set up a patio, which allowed market attendees to enjoy the music and atmosphere of the market while enjoying a beverage.
Kat Davis, Executive Director for Carlsbad MainStreet shared “We are fortunate to have the Eddy County Courthouse lawn in the heart of our district. It provides the perfect venue to host the market. Since the gazebo project was also completed it provides us with the best location to host live music at each of our market nights. The lawn provides a great space to be able to offer all the activities that come along with the market, such as bounce houses, petting zoo, painting and more. We also have a lot of great businesses in the district that love to participate when we do our Third Thursday events, this is what led us to expand those nights off of the lawn and into the streets so that the event attendees are able to browse the shops that we have downtown as well as enjoy all the vendors, produce and non-profits that come for the Third Thursdays.”
Sponsors help make the market nights happen, Davis shared that this year’s Season Sponsor is Mosaic. SIMCO, Devon, New Mexico Gas Company, and Carlsbad Medical Center are also sponsors for this year’s market. Each Third Thursday event is themed, this year’s themes are: June- Summer Celebration, July- Street Art, August- Paint Downtown Blue (CHS pep rally night), September- Carnival
Follow their market page on facebook @Carlsbad Downtown Farmers and Makers Market. They post information weekly on entertainment, vendors, food trucks etc. so it is a great source to know what is going on week to week at the market. Also, know that it is never too late to get involved or signed up for the market! Please stop by the MainStreet booth on a market night or call the office at 575-628-3768 for more information on getting set up.
Story and photos by Michele Robertson
