Thank you all for another wonderful market season!

We have had another successful season in our downtown location. As it stands now, we will be in the same configuration for the 2016 season.

The visibility that we enjoy downtown has had a tremendous positive effect on the revenue of our vendors and the vibrant spirit of downtown Sequim on Saturdays.

When we moved from Cedar Street two years ago it felt like a big overhaul and most of us were ready and excited for that to take place. On Cedar Street the market, unfortunately, had begun to slump. The overall total sales of vendors in 2007 and 2008 were over a quarter of a million dollars and it wasn’t until the move in 2014 that we saw that worm turn. The numbers had just continued to slowly decrease each year.

Adding up the total sales in 2014 was thrilling, the jump in total vendors sales from 2013 to 2014 were up an amazing 25 percent. This year we are looking just a bit better than last year. We don’t have the final numbers yet but it is looking very close.

And you know what they say, “Location, location” … and that is right.

Well, it doesn’t hurt that we have fantastic vendors, too. We have had a wonderful rush of new and interesting vendors join the market in recent years and are fortunate to have a few great farms and some wonderful food.

The market is run by a volunteer board of directors who hired me, Lisa Bridge, and they are my employers. I began this position in November 2009 and the finances were unstable, as you may recall by the articles in the newspaper.

In 2010, we began the work to stabilize the market.

Val Jackson, owner of Whimsical Woods (gnome homes and birdhouses) became board president. Now, five years later, he is stepping down from the presidency and the market is in good financial shape. We, the market, express our gratitude for your fantastic contributions to the Sequim Farmers Market.

Thank you Val!

We welcome our new board president, Dee Green of Studio by the Creek pottery, who has been in the vice president’s seat for many years now. With a handful of other new board members, the enthusiasm is peppy and refreshing.

This year was a big year for me. As many of you know, I gave birth to my two healthy twin sons, Charles and Ivan Bridge, back on Feb. 17. Now 8 months old, the twins are thriving and bumbling all over the place, along with my first-grader Olive. Cheers to our market that is a supportive employer for a working mom!

All in all, the market greatly has enjoyed its front and center place in our beautiful downtown. It is a joy to put up the flags and banners and contribute to making Saturdays in Sequim a festive destination. Thank you all for shopping local and supporting the Sequim Farmers Market.

See you at the market this week and at the Holiday Show on Nov. 21!

Sequim Farmers Market

Open Saturdays 9 a.m.-3 p.m. through October

• Oct. 31 (closing day for 2015); holiday show is 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 21, at Carrie Blake Park’s Guy Cole Center

Downtown Sequim at Centennial Plaza, Sequim Avenue

Contacts: www.sequimmarket.com; manager@sequimmarket.com; 460-2668