ANCHORAGE, Alaska—
Another summer has gone by for vendors at the Anchorage Market and Festival. Vendors wrapped up last-minute sales Sunday during the seasonal market’s final day in 2010.Many of the market’s vendors have been setting up there for years, and some of them say that despite the weather, business this year has been pretty steady.
Michael East, the owner of Kahiltna Birch Work, says this has been one of the wettest summers since the market started 18 years ago.
“Last Saturday, it really rained and shut it down -- we got half of what we normally do because of the weather,” East said.
For some, though, the gloomy weather didn't sour their sales.
“This is nothing -- we've been very fortunate with the weather,” said Vicki and Stan Rudge, who are visiting from Pennsylvania.
“It's amazing: the buses will be here and it will be raining, and they still get off and looking for Alaskan deals and products and they buy,” East said.
It’s the business that makes the weather bearable, for vendors selling everything from cookies to jewelry -- all heavily reliant on sales during the market.
Susan Bennett, co-owner of the Walter Lee Bennett carvings and jewelry booth, says she sees many tourists come prepared for the weather with umbrellas and ponchos. As long as the weather doesn’t combine wind and rain, Bennett says customers are willing to spend -- with a few red stickers and discounts.
“Some of our carvings were smaller; we tried to make it more economical,” Bennett said.
For some vendors, like photographer Todd Salat and his Todd Salat Shots booth, gloomy weather can even help bring in the green.
“This year, maybe a little bit more gray and rain, but that means less reflection on the photos as (far as) we're concerned,” Salat said.
Several vendors say sales have held steady compared to last year, and in this economy that's good news.
“This is probably a third of our retail sales here at the market, so we depend on it -- you'll probably see us here a decade from now,” East said.
The Anchorage Market was first established in 1992 as the Saturday Market, when it consisted of about two dozen vendors, but now there are many more.
The market says more than 600,000 people visited last season.
Contact Christine Kim at ckim@ktuu.com
