New Maryland Market Celebrates One-Year Anniversary
NEW MARYLAND – After officially being open for one whole year, The New Maryland Market looks to be thriving. Located at The New Maryland Centre, it has come to be the place to be on the first Sunday of every month.
Shannon Williamson, owner and founder of The New Maryland Market, aims to create a welcoming and friendly space for local vendors to reach new people in the community.
“I’ve really been passionate, always, about supporting local and shopping local and I feel very proud about the fact that [The New Maryland Market has] helped a lot of small businesses get started or get their name out there,” Williamson tells Huddle.
Originally, Williamson says The New Maryland Market was only supposed to be a one-time Mother’s Day event. But after getting positive feedback from the community, she had decided that she would start a once-a-month market for the local community.
“I wanted to bring something to the community, and this has really brought the community together,” she says. “It’s a place that everybody kind of meets up once a month and we see our neighbours and our friends and support each other, and it’s been really great.”
Williamson says that with The New Maryland Market, she also usually has a fundraiser going on for a variety of different organizations. Over the past year, she says that the market has raised about $3,000 for organizations like the local food bank and the SPCA.
The New Maryland Market typically hosts about 30-50 local vendors, some of which include crafters, soaps and bath bomb makers, artists, food trucks, and more.
“A really important thing to me is that I don’t want to have competition between vendors at my market,” says Williamson. “So, I’m very careful to choose vendors… I don’t have other vendors that make similar things, so that way each vendor is able to stand out at the market.”
Although there are some vendors who sell products from the same field, Williamson says that they are each unique to one another, making them stand out in their own ways.
Each month, The New Maryland Market tries to have a theme, depending on what is happening around that time. Usually, there are special events happening which pertain to children and things to entertain them.
“I have three kids, so I like to see kid stuff. There’s not very much offered in Fredericton, let alone New Maryland, for kids. So, I really try to focus on kid stuff,” Williamson tells Huddle.
On Sunday May 7th, The New Maryland Market had not only celebrated Mother’s Day, but also their one-year anniversary of the official opening.
During the celebrations, Williamson was presented with a certificate of congratulations from the Village of New Maryland by Mayor Judy. Williamson says that it was something very special and that she is very proud of receiving the certificate. There were things given out to those who had attended the celebrations such as cake, prizes, and more.
Williamson says that the next market to be held will be on Sunday June 4th, with the potential theme being “start-of-summer”. There will be events, plenty of vendors, and great moods all around.
Ryley Roach is a Huddle student intern, based in Fredericton. Send her your feedback and story ideas: [email protected]