Sherbrooke market gears up for sixth season Event attracts up to 500 each weekend
SHERBROOKE — Vendors and those who contribute their time and energy to make the Sherbrooke Saturday Market the popular social and economic entity it has become are preparing for opening day of their sixth season on June 8.
In an interview with The Journal, self-described “grassroots market organizer” Gabriela Schupbach expressed her enthusiasm and anticipation for the upcoming season.
Her original market vision “to provide a safe and insured space for people to gather, connect and sell or barter their skills and talents,” has been realized, she said, and then some. The weekly event has evolved to include 10 regular weekly vendors and often as many as 30.
Attendance varies depending on the weather and other events that may be happening on the same weekend, but the numbers have grown since the market launched in 2019.
“Thanks to our downtown Sherbrooke location, we attracted around 100 to 150 visitors to the first market,” Schupbach shared, “which is a guess, as we didn't start counting until COVID regulations required it.”
Last season, the market attracted 150 to 500 visitors each weekend.
“The music and concessions make all the difference in the atmosphere of the event, creating a space for socializing beyond shopping,” Schupbach offered. “In 2019, when the market started with a handful of vendors, I asked local musician Mike Porter if he could play us some guitar as a busker. He then decided to donate his proceeds to the food bank.”
There have been changes since the initial market, with five or six vendors and a guitar player for entertainment, which took place in the gravel parking lot on Main St. in Sherbrooke.
Now known as the Sherbrooke Saturday Market, the event has settled into its new home in the park adjacent to Sherbrooke Village, which offers more space for vendors and visitors.
The Sherbrooke Market Society, which formed in 2022, now has a board and event insurance, according to Schupbach, who serves as chair.
Beautiful gardens add colour and give the market atmosphere a “happy feel,” she said. There are benches for visitors, where they can enjoy a cold or hot beverage and a bite to eat while listening to the entertainment. What started as Porter and his guitar has grown into a multi-person band that performs in the impressive wooden gazebo in the centre of the park. Smiling faces and tapping toes are the norm in the park on Saturday mornings.
“Other musicians joined in, and the market flourished into what it is today,” said Schupbach, “a welcoming stage for old and new talent, having raised thousands of dollars for the food bank.”
The market provides visitors with a unique shopping experience. Vendors offer a variety of items, including homemade bread, sweets, jams and jellies, cotton candy, popcorn, fresh vegetables, plants for gardeners, hand-carved wooden creations and chainsaw art, handmade jewelry and crafts, plus the occasional flea-market item.
Of course, like most good things, she acknowledged the market is not without the occasional controversy.
“I did get an anonymous phone call last summer,” Schupbach told The Journal. “A patron was very upset that he couldn't park inside the 1800's museum. We like to think that walking a few steps from the parking lot is worth the lovely park setting we find ourselves in, and we do encourage able-bodied patrons to leave adjacent parking spots to seniors.”
Schupbach said the Saturday market is “what people make of it.”
As for the future, she added: “I hope the market will sustain itself to always be there, even after I retire from organizing it. My dream is that other places adopt the same simple concept to promote a free local economy.”
If you'd like to participate in the market, join the Sherbrooke Saturday Market Facebook page and contact Schupbach on Messenger. If you're not online, call 1-902-338-0290.
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Joanne Jordan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Guysborough Journal
