The Columbia Heights Community Marketplace started off with a bang on Saturday, June 5th. Vendors began arriving at 7am, and the Columbia Heights Civic Plaza was buzzing with activity. Over the course of the next two hours, a group of us helped put up canopies, set up tables, and build a stage to host speakers and performers from the Columbia Heights community.
Although I spent the majority of the day helping sell organic cotton Community Marketplace t-shirts, giving out free reusable bags, and answering questions about the marketplace, I witnessed a lot of really neat things on Saturday. The farmers market portion of the Marketplace boasts nine amazing vendors, all from within 150 miles of the city—but that is only a small portion of what it will bring to Columbia Heights.
Tamma Carleton, a member of the Board of Directors, specified that the goal was to provide “a market focused on local, sustainably grown food, a weekly event that could reflect the diversity of Columbia Heights, and a forum for public engagement and youth involvement.” From now until the end of October, the Marketplace will host yoga classes, live music and performances, cooking demonstrations, free health clinics, and more.
There is a weekly gleaning schedule so that local organizations that provide meals for the homeless can pick up the extra food at the end of the market day.
Carleton also mentioned that they are working on a Youth Market Program:
Local kids will be hired to work at the Marketplace in all tasks from setup to selling products, to helping vendors on the farm, in the bakery, or in the kitchen. This program will help educate local youth about the many issues around sustainable food and access to fresh food in urban areas as well as give them valuable entrepreneurial skills.
Overall, the Community Marketplace will be a space for residents to give and receive services and get to know their neighbors. It will be a way to engage and inspire, helping to turn a neighborhood into a community.
Here’s what I've learned:
A community brings together people with something in common.
Like-minded individuals with a common cause form the basis of a movement, and
Strong movements are what ultimately cause global change.
In our busy, everyday lives, we sometimes forget the importance of in person interaction and connection. A community can be anything from a neighborhood, to a sports team, a faith group, a music group, or a book club…
So here’s some food for thought: what communities are you a part of? What brings your community together, and what are you fighting for?
*Columbia Heights Community Marketplace photographs by Joel Mittleman
