At one
of our Walk to End Alzheimer’s committee meetings, we were brainstorming about
events where we could promote the Walk and other Alzheimer’s programs and
services. Someone suggested the Farmers’ Market, and our walk manager, Laura,
proceeded to contact them. The market is open on Tuesdays and Fridays each week,
and we eventually procured a Friday for our informational booth.
Laura
and I set up our table at the Farmers’ Market on a lovely day that plopped
itself right in the middle of a heat wave. We were front and center where we
saw everyone who entered and left the market. A steady flow of people mostly passed
us by, but occasionally someone would stop to pick up information or show
interest in our September 17 Walk.
We took
turns perusing the market booths. I snapped photos and walked around looking at
everything but didn’t buy anything. Laura found a few things including a fried
pie. She declared it delicious. Her endorsement was enough to convince me that
I, too, had to have a fried pie. I also scored two “hens and chick” succulents
that I had been wanting.
Several
people stopped by our booth including the CEO of one of our corporate sponsors.
She took several posters and walker sign-up sheets. I saw a friend that grew up
in the same rural area that I did. All, in all, it was a pleasant way to spend
the afternoon.
The
time went by fast, and as we broke down the table and put away our things,
Laura mentioned the small number of people who stopped by. “But it was a nice
day, we had a great visit, we handed out information, and got out the word
about the Walk. Not to mention I found my hens and chicks, and you have some
goodies to take home.”
“You
sure put a positive spin on it,” she said.
“If you
reach one person, it wasn’t wasted time,” I said.
Spending
an afternoon at the Farmers’ Market also put the place on my radar. When we ran
out of tomatoes, Harold and I stopped by the Farmers’ Market. Harold waited in
the truck, but cautioned me, “Don’t buy a lot of stuff.”
As I
strolled into the market, I noticed a long line winding across the entire
building. I was relieved that the line was for peaches and not tomatoes!
Several different booths had tomatoes for sale with much shorter lines. I chose
one that was also selling corn on the cob. After I bought my tomatoes, I asked
about the corn. “Six dollars a dozen,” she said.
I only
wanted a half dozen so she bagged the corn up for me. In less than ten minutes,
I purchased delicious tomatoes and tasty corn. On my walk back to the car, I
was thankful that I was only in the sweltering heat for a short time.
I’m
glad Laura and I went to the Farmers’ Market with our Alzheimer’s information,
but Laura and I both agreed that on a hot day, it would be miserable. We were
lucky once, but with a long, hot summer ahead of us, we knew that wasn’t likely
to happen again.
Our
next booth will be in air-conditioned comfort at Central Missouri Electric
Cooperative’s Annual Meeting. We will be sharing information and talking the
Walk.
Copyright
© July 2022 by L.S. Fisher
http://earlyonset.blogspot.com
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