By MARY ANNE GATES

For Northwest News

Overcast skies and the threat of rain did not deter a steady stream of customers from showing up the morning of May 13 to check out the new location for the Allen County Marketplace.

Many vendors set up booths with a wide variety of goods in the parking lot at Pathway Community Church, 1010 Carroll Road, Fort Wayne, for the start of the 2023 outdoor handcrafted and farmer’s market season. The market will assemble from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. the second Saturday of each month through October.

The event, now in its third season, moved from the Huntertown Family Park due to the current Woods Road widening project.

Doing a brisk business at the new location was Sassy’s Bows, a first-time vendor with ACM. Sassy’s Bows features a large assortment of colorful hair bows.

“They are for big girls, or little girls, and anybody else who likes bows,” said Holly Graves, vendor, Sassy’s Bows.

By midmorning, several customers had stopped by her booth looking for hair bows.

“There are a lot of people here especially for it being a rainy morning. We have made quite a few sales so far. It’s a good start to the day,” Graves said.

ACM co-founder Steve Lebrecht also liked seeing the crowds examine offerings from about 100 vendors.

“The best thing that has happened today is the crowds that are showing up. The weather is breaking. It’s a really good day. I love seeing all the people come out and enjoy themselves and enjoy all the local shopping they can do,” Lebrecht said.

Lebrecht, who had an information table set up at the entrance, also has some experience estimating the crowd size at the Marketplace.

“We normally draw about 4,500 to 5,000 people per event. It might be a little light because of the rain. But we will probably end up there before the day is over,” he said.

Besides estimating the number of people at the Marketplace, he also knows what attendees like to see and do at the event.

“Most people really enjoy the food options the best. They also like seeing the custom woodwork and art. People also come for the direct sales vendors like Tupperware,” he said.

As the crowd wandered throughout the Marketplace, two Huntertown woodworking clubs sat side by side displaying their unique, handcrafted products.

The Northeast Indiana Chiselers and Turners showcased wood pieces like bowls and vases that are turned on a lathe. Meanwhile, the Three Rivers Woodworking Club featured pieces created by using other woodworking equipment such as a bandsaw or a scroll saw.

“They (the woodworkers) are extremely talented people. The Huntertown woodworking groups are an amazing resource for the community. They are inexpensive and they have an abundance of knowledge. It is possibly one of the best kept secrets out there,” Lebrecht said.

Both clubs explained to passers-by about their respective clubs and the pleasure woodworking can bring.

“It is a great group to start any kind of creative woodworking process with. We are more than happy to share our experience, which we have tons of,” Gary Travis, director, Northeast Indiana Chiselers and Turners Club, said.

They are also looking throughout the area to introduce a slightly younger crowd to the joys of woodworking.

“We hope to get more youthful people interested in woodworking. We are going around to different venues and towns (looking for those people) who could possibly offer and have some sort of influence with younger kids. We are trying to get them involved in woodworking. We are doing demonstrations and things like that. We want to pass along the skills and knowledge so they can have a chance to get away from the video games and actually get the rewards of making something themselves with their own hands,” Travis said.