The Moscow City Council Chambers were rife with creative crafts and various foods Friday at the Moscow Farmers Market Craft and Food Jury.
The goods were produced by local residents in the hopes of becoming potential walk-on vendors for this year’s Farmers Market.
Moscow Art Director Kathleen Burns said the jury helped the city sort through potential vendors and the products they are selling at the market.
“We have a lot of people that want to be in the market,” Burns said. “So this is just a way for us to find out what people are actually selling, so they don’t end up applying for something and then bringing in (something else) without the Health Department knowing about it.”
According to the Craft and Food Jury application, the jurors base their decisions on locality, originality, quality of the material, agricultural focus, craftsmanship and product origins.
Though space was limited, there were many potential vendors involved in the event. Among those involved was Joe Degel, owner and craftsman of Brilliant Barrel Works. Degel said the juried event is helpful in producing a good market for Moscow.
“I like the fact that … things are juried,” Degel said. “I think Moscow does a good job of putting on a solid Farmers Market.”
He said the juried event could be rather cumbersome, even if it protects the quality of the market.
“For someone who works Monday through Friday, I have to take a day off of work to come in and set up for the jury,” Degel said. “But, you know, I think they’re protecting the quality of the show that they put on and I think they put on a good show.”
Degel said he was excited to be a part of the market and he looked forward to seeing the other potential goods.
Alex Barham and Melissa Mariscal set up their booth “Lodgepole — Artful Eats and Curiosities” and said they also appreciate the organization and structure of the Farmers Market jury.
“You know, it makes you feel the pressure and keep organized and that’s what’s going to happen every single week if you’re at the market,” Mariscal said. “And especially dealing with hundreds that you see every Saturday.”
Barham said it makes sense to have the booths juried for the market.
“I think, or the way I understand it anyways, is that it’s … a bunch of the City Council, other people, like big, local name people going around looking at this stuff,” Barham said. “And so, it kind of makes sense that they would have a little bit of a say of what’s going to be sold on the street down there.”
Like Degel, Barham and Mariscal expressed their excitement for the event and the market.
Andrew Jenson can be reached at [email protected]