It had rained all week long, so when the weekend approached and the forecast called for more rain with a blast of cold wind and the possibility of hail, I felt myself preparing for a long weekend of two cold wet days of standing under a canopy selling sauces. The Saturday Vancouver Market is a long one, starting at 9 and ending at 3 it is the marathon of markets. 6 hours may not sound like a long day but it is not merely the hours at the market that a vendor is looking at but the 2-3 hours of prep prior to the start and the couple of hours after the customers have gone home. I am a vendor that uses a co-packer (a term to describe someone who produces the actual products) but I know many in the market that bake, raise, grow or cook the goods that they sell, their lives being unimaginably more demanding and exhaustive than mine. While the weather was as forcasted, there were other brave souls that ventured out into the elements and it was a comfort that we were not alone in the belief that "if we cook, bake, prepare it they will come". Big pluses were that we had been moved from the back end of 6th street to the main drag of the market on Esther, and to top it all off we were placed next to "Oh Fudge" a great local Vancouver shop that has the most amazing and delicious selection of fudge IN THE UNIVERSE. With all the pluses it was still wet and cold but we survived, sold some sauces and met Jen the fudge lady's daughter and the cutest little Boston Terrier who sat in a red Radio Flyer All-Terrain Wagon taking it all in as his person pulled him through the market and the rain.
