Concord’s annual party brings big flavors
Concord’s Market Days festival is in its 51st year, and according to organizer Jessica Martin, it is an excellent opportunity to appreciate Concord, and for Concord residents to celebrate themselves.
“We have a great downtown and we love to show it off,” Martin said. “So Market Days is our oldest event that really does a good job with that.” Martin is the Executive Director of InTown Concord (intownconcord.org). She and her team stage several festivals on Main Street each year, but she said that Market Days is something extra special.
“We have such a good variety of food,” she said, “and retail, and nonprofits and artists. I think it’s the best year that I’ve seen so far. I’m really excited about that.” The food side of this year’s festival, she said, is especially exciting. One of this year’s vendors will be Unlawful Waffles (unlawfulwafflesllc.com).
“They’re a new vendor,” she said. “So they’re all big waffles with different types of toppings; they do a waffle cone. We’ve got some really good variety this year. This is the first year Siam Orchid … has participated as a vendor. They’re going to have their After-Thai dessert bar be part of that. There will be a lot of good sweets this year. Sugar Tang is a new one, and they’re doing a traditional Chinese treat. It’s kind of like candy-covered strawberries and different types of fruit.”
In addition to food, Market Days gives Concord’s art community a chance to shine. Jessica Livingston of the Concord Arts Market said art vendors will play a significant role in the festival. “For the past several years, we’ve been part of that. We take over Pleasant Street and we have almost 50 vendors that are all part of the Concord Arts Market community. So that means that there are local, independent artists and everything is either hand-made or created by the actual artist.” The art vendors, she said, will be open for business for the entire time the festival takes place. She is excited by the breadth of talents that will be present this year, from handmade brooms (instagram.com/moonrisebrooms) to stained glass (facebook.com/Stellaorionstudios) to chainmail jewelry (knittingmetal.com).
“There’s also another one to point out,” Livingston said, “Heebee Jeebs (heebeegeebs.com). She makes jewelry out of actual flower petals. They’re so beautiful. And it’s made out of actual flower petals.”
Perhaps nobody is more excited about this year’s Market Days than Cady Hickman. She and her fiance, Cameron Green, will be married at the Statehouse on Friday afternoon, before being accompanied by a New Orleans-style second-line band to their reception at the BNH Stage (16 S. Main St.). She said that when she and Cameron first heard about a competition to be married at the festival, it seemed almost like a joke.
“We saw the competition,” Hickman remembered, “and [Cam] said, ‘Oh, wouldn’t that be funny to do?’ Then we talked about it, and were like, ‘Oh, but actually it’s fully public, so we can invite everyone we want to.”
Hickman said that despite both she and her fiance being introverts, this wedding will allow them to really express themselves while still being able to enjoy some privacy.
“There will be a public reception, and the band will play on the outdoor main stage at Market Days. We will go up on stage and do some things like a first dance and all that and then there will be some time where we’re able to sort of just greet the public, but then a private reception will go off and we’ll be with our close family and friends.”
Instead of a cake, the Hickman-Greens will have something a little less traditional. “We’ve been able to really focus on the pieces that we’ve enjoyed from weddings and little things that we like,” Hickman said.
“Lighthouse Local in Manchester has doughnuts that are out of this world, and they agreed to do our doughnuts for the reception. We’ve built a display so we can have the doughnuts accessible for everyone. It’s just been a lot of fun stuff like that.”
“Weddings are supposed to be unique and special,” she said. “ I don’t think we can make ours any more unique and special.”
Concord Market Days Festival
Where: Main Street in Concord
When: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, June 26, Friday, June 27, and Saturday, June 28. According to the festival’s webpage, “no tickets are required for entry to the festival. Some vendors may accept credit cards and some will be cash only. There are several ATM locations along Main Street, should you need them.”
For a list of food and shopping vendors, visit marketdaysfestival.com/vendors.
For a list of art vendors, visit marketdaysfestival.com/concord-arts-market.
Featured photo: Cameron Green and Cady Hickman. Courtesy photo.
