Sudbury Market calls Science North home for the winter

SUDBURY -

After a busy summer at the outdoor market in Sudbury, local vendors have now moved indoors. This winter, instead of being at the Southridge Mall, the market will be set up inside Science North.

A total of 50 vendors were at Science North throughout the day, and organizers say this is the highest number of vendors the indoor market has ever seen.

“We are at maximum capacity. We’ve had a lot more applications than normal. Partially because a lot of the regular craft shows are cancelled due to Covid,” said Kayla Smith, market manager with the Sudbury Market Board.

“So, a lot of our crafters are looking for another outlet to be able to sell their goods so they’ve come to the market to try it out and they found a lot of success so they want to keep coming.”

Local vendors say they are happy with the new location.

“I think we’ve had a pretty good turnout considering the move in to a new location from Southridge Mall to Science North. It’s been pretty steady ever since we open. There’s quite a line up when we first open up and it’s steady throughout most of the day,” said Ryan Belanger, with Family Roots Farm.

“There’s a buzz, and the customers are coming in and creating more buzz, everybody is excited from the young to the old. Lots to see, lots of variety of vendors,” said Colleen Burke-Pronk, co-owner of CJ’s Pies and More Bakery.

Organizers say they’ve seen a significant increase in the number of people attending the indoor market, adding on average they see between five to six hundred people come through the doors.

“Our numbers are absolutely outstanding compared to when we were at the Southridge Mall. People really do love Science North and so when they are coming in to visit the science centre they are also coming around the market.”

Some of the vendors say the market is something they heavily rely on to sell their products.

“If we didn’t have these markets a things would be a lot different, a lot more challenging. It’s great to have a retail outlet and be able to come face to face with your customers,” said Erin Rowe, with Truly Northern Farms.

People in attendance say they continue to want to support local.

“We are regulars to the Sudbury market, we try to get our every Saturday. It’s coming out of a pandemic and we really want to support local and being able to have so many local vendors in one place is fantastic,” said one shopper.

“It’s very exciting for it to be at Science North, it’s very nostalgic for us I think too so the place holds a lot of significance for Sudbury. It’s good to keep supporting the local vendors I think throughout the winter,” said another shopper.

The market is open every Saturday from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. until Dec. 18.