Tony Allegretti hired as Market Manager of the Riverside Arts Market

[BridgeTroll]

Yes... that is my understanding.

Here are some of the features you will enjoy at RAM:

RESTROOMS
INFORMATION BOOTH
ATM MACHINE
WATER FOUNTAINS
THE RIVER STAGE
BIKE RACKS
WATER TAXI TO THE LANDING
THE RIVERWALK

[TPC]

I plan on riding my bike there. I hope this brings out a lot of people and the vendors do well.

While talking about art there are two gallery receptions tonight as well. The Jean Gray gallery and Flux both have receptions 6-9 I believe.

[grimss]

Actually, the water taxi is off for now (the ferry folks wanted $1000 every Saturday to run the service and it was thought that kind of $ was better spent elsewhere); hopefully, the company will see all the potential traffic, recognize the business potential and lower their asking price.  However, if you go by bike, there will be a bike valet who'll watch over your bike and put air in your tires . . .

[BridgeTroll]

Thanks grimss... a friendly suggestion to update RAM website.  I am sure I was not the only person looking forward to a boatride to the event...

[Shwaz]

South-banker's can still take the water taxi to the Landing and then it just a nice stroll up the north-bank riverwalk. I can see how that may be a death march in July... but tomorrow should be pretty nice.

[CrysG]

Just got back from RAM. Not what I thought it was going to be. I liked it and it was a nice outing. Here's my thoughts.

It was more of a craft fair than I thought it would be. I saw a lot of women's jewelery and art(paintings and photography) but not much in terms of market. A few of local foods. Native Son had a booth as did Winn-Dixie along with some other small produce stands. My husband and I got meat pies from a British Pie Booth. We also got strawberry jam. My mother got some greens and a necklace. We both got cakes.

It seem to be more of a once a month type of thing than a every week thing. To clarify, I can buy produce every week but a wall painting every so often. There wasn't a lot of things that made me want to come back week after week (produce, breads, flowers, etc)

My parents who live out in Fleming Island had never been that close to downtown and thought the river views were nice. Lots of people were eating out side and I saw a large number of people using the River walk. It was nice and shady with it being under the bridge.

Plenty of families, and pet owners too.

The drumming circle was nice but were loud enough that made it hard to talk to anyone.

I had no problem finding a place to park since I got there early and knew of the different lots available. My parents (with my mother being handcapt and not really able to walk long distances) had a harder time finding a place to park.

Crossing the street was troublesome. You pretty much had to run at your own risk. There was a JSO car but no one really helping you cross the street which can be a problem if you parked more towards the First Guaranty Bank area.

Overall I think it was fun. I may not go back every week like planned but it will be a nice fun thing to do every month or so.

[RiversideLoki]

I rode by on my morning ride and I agree with CrysG. It did seem to be a bit heavy on the craft fair side. I saw a few actual artists with actual art. But I didn't see a whole lot of produce. I'd like to see more independent dealers and I hope this doesn't turn into a weekly Riverside art festival (with lots of ocean paintings and sculptures made of driftwood.) It seems like it'll be a logistical nightmare to pull this off every weekend. I'm sure they have bugs to work out and I'm sure Tony will take all the good and bad into consideration.

All in all though, everyone seemed positive. It has a lot of promise and I hope it works out on a regular basis. But you know how people in Jax are. They get bored with things very quickly. Even though I didn't valet my bike (I just stopped and talked to people) the bike valet is a wonderful idea and looked like it worked out just fine. I just wish getting into the area was more bike friendly. The changes they made to Riverside Ave were about as chaotic as I thought they'd be.

There were several harrowing moments in the area, the worst of which was a man in an SUV not paying attention to the light and almost bowling me and several others over. It would be nice to see someone working the crosswalks. But I understand that leads to additional cost.

I'd give it a 6/10 so far. I'm sure they'll work out the bugs.

[thelakelander]

I spent about an hour down there.  The turnout was pretty good and it was refreshing seeing people walking the sidewalks along Riverside Avenue and the riverwalk.  My wife mentioned it was the first time she had seen that many people (on foot), in Jax, in years.  I hope in the future some deal can be worked out with the water taxi.  I think a stronger connection with DT and the hotels could lead to additional business opportunities.

[Springfielder]

This morning, I rode over (bicycles) with several neighbors...and the place was already packed. I agree that what there was in vendors was more along the lines of crafts. I would hope that they expand more on the fresh veggies and food vendors, as it was quite limited. It was nice and quite lively, but overall....not something that I'd visit very often. Still, I was glad to see such a turn out.

[thelakelander]

Here are a few images taken around noon.

[ChriswUfGator]

Wandered around a bit, it's definitely nice to have this event in the neighborhood.

However, I agree with the others who said it was pretty much just a craft fair. I was hoping for some turnout from some of the same painters and sculptors who participate Art Walk, and instead from what I could see, it just wound up being a bunch of ladies selling meat pies, jewelry, and birdhouses. I guess that's fine if you're into that, but for whatever reason I was expecting more 'art' and less 'crafts'...

That said, you couldn't possibly ask for a better day, it was gorgeous! This was also the first time I'd ever been under the bridge so that was definitely neat as well. But I just didn't see a single thing I wanted to buy. The only thing I could have justified buying was produce, but then who wants to walk around the rest of the day carrying it, especially when your car is blocks away?

I will definitely go back, but I think the ART Market needs some more ART if you catch my drift...

[BridgeTroll]

My wife and I went to RAM around 12:30.  I parked right next to the old firehouse and we walked the riverwalk to RAM.  It was great to see all the people on the riverwalk and I am sure a great many of them have never had the pleasure.  Opening day was a great success judging by the number of people... especially with Springing the blues, clay county fair and some other things going on in town.

I am sure the crowds will thin some and the vendors will change as spring turns to summer.

What a beautiful day to be out though!

[stjr]

This morning, I rode over (bicycles) with several neighbors...and the place was already packed. I agree that what there was in vendors was more along the lines of crafts. I would hope that they expand more on the fresh veggies and food vendors, as it was quite limited. It was nice and quite lively, but overall....not something that I'd visit very often. Still, I was glad to see such a turn out.

I rode by on my morning ride and I agree with CrysG. It did seem to be a bit heavy on the craft fair side. I saw a few actual artists with actual art. But I didn't see a whole lot of produce....

I think the RAM is great and hope it thrives.  It sounds like lots of planning, thought, effort and community support has been put into it.

But, I do think its organizers need to stick to what will work best for the concept and not try to be all things to all people.   IMHO, being a once-a-week, seasonal activity, RAM should focus on attracting visitors that will make spontaneous or impulsive decisions to visit - tourists, locals looking to take out of town relatives somewhere different, being a novel family outing, appealing to young people on a date, old people looking for adventure, or exercisers desiring a fun way to burn calories, etc.

Generating ongoing and repeat traffic is going to take continuous creativity and novelty to keep things fresh, exciting, and interesting.  RAM will need to regularly rotate a portion of their exhibitiors, entertainers, and food options, or at least their offerings, and look for the really outlandish and unusual.  People won't necessarily return for the same exact art or food, but they will come back to see changing entertainment, new displays, new or exotic art or food concepts.  No one, commented, but do they have street performers (prevalent at Jackson Square in New Orleans, Mallory Square in Key West, etc.)? Also, they probably should look at some interactive exhibits, activities, and shows that require audience participation and/or have changing themes (like jazz, sport, music, history, Navy, railroad, 4th of July, or Georgia/Florida week?!).  And, how about exploiting the river access with a boat show/parade, fireworks, sunset/sunrise viewings, boat rides, bringing in shrimp boats from Mayport to sell fish, a Cypress Gardens-style water skiing show, etc.

With food/produce, they should not bother trying to attract someone shopping their weekly food/produce needs.   They can't match the convenience, selection, and set up of a grocery store and that plus drive up parking at the Beaver Street Farmers Market (which, interestingly, is only 5 or 10 minutes away via Stockton Street).  Because food of almost any amount weighs a lot more than most people are willing to carry for any length time or distance, who is going to lug it around for an hour or more through an art market, street festival, or flea market and then walk a few hundred or thousand feet back to a car?  And, people aren't going to schedule their basic food needs around the RAM schedule when stores or the Farmers Market are open every day of the year, all day long.  What food should do great at RAM is impulse purchases like ready-to-eat, hand held/take out style foods, that are consumed on the spot - lunch, dinner, beverages, deserts, snacks - maybe, a Peterbrooke Chocalate booth.

I figured today would be their biggest crowd with it being a "grand opening" so I shied away.  But, I hope to go soon and see for myself what's up.  I like the tie in with the Riverwalk from downtown and look forward to maybe making my approach that way. Tie-ins to the Cummer Gallery and some restuarants within walking distance might also be a boost.  Maybe a portion of Riverside Avenue should be closed to cars (detour to Park?) while RAM is open.

I hope they refine the concept over time and it becomes as famous (or more so) as Mallory or Jackson Square. It wouldn't hurt if they not only promoted the event but the location by giving it an attractive name such as Riverside Square or Plaza.  That sounds a lot better than "under the I-95 Bridge" which, as I have noted elsewhere on MJ, is no site to behold! (see http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,4347.0.html )

[thelakelander]

^They did have street performers today, as well as a continuous flow of musical acts.

[grimss]

Thanks for all the great feedback! I will definitely share with the RAMROD folks.

I was there almost the entire day, working the information booth and various other spots.  The crowds were amazing; someone who knows how to do this estimated, around 2pm, that about 20,000 people had passed through the market. WOW.

Personally, I loved the mix of products; there were funky embroidered items for babies (think colorful peace sign on a onesie), great jewelry, some impressive art (Kathy Stark's booth was fabulous), amazing brittle (the gal running the booth completely sold out), and some unusual produce. (I bought Taro and now have to figure out how to cook it).  I think the market's success will depend on an interesting--and ever-changing--mix of items.  The produce area was a huge hit; many of the farmers admitted they had underestimated what they'd sell.  Native Sun (who was there filling in until the market can attract enough local organic farmers) had to make three trips back to their warehouse for more produce.  The guy selling honey said he's going to have to get his bees into overdrive.  I think most vendors were extremely happy with their sales.

Since this is a brand new thing for JAX, a lot of stuff still needs to be worked out. I loved the drummers, but they were much too loud and overshadowed the main stage performers when they played.  The street performers (which I thought might be cheesy) were incredible, especially the escape artist who shackled himself in a straight jacket and hung upside down from a chain.  There were way too many people to make this an enjoyable weekly trip--once the crowds settle down, I can see myself biking up to the market for kale and more of the awesome Steak-and-Guinness pies we're enjoying for dinner this evening. (Those guys made out like bandits--they sold every single pie they had.)

The music was great, and the river venue is beautiful. The food vendor options were quite good, but the lines were WAY long, as were the bathroom lines. I got out of the market mid-day, and could tell that every single parking space ANYWHERE was taken. Again, it's a work in progress, and I'd really appreciate honest assessments from all of you so that I can pass them on, and the market can be improved.

All in all, though, I think it was a huge success. I was talking to Councilman Corrigan and we were both marveling at the numbers of people streaming down the Riverwalk to the market. THAT made the whole day for me.