Downtown comes alive with return of annual open-air marketIt was Mother’s Day, so cut flowers were a hot commodity at the 2005 season of the Astoria Sunday Market got underway. Many happy moms were carrying bouquets wrapped in white paper as they strolled along 12th Street.

Everyone seemed to be smiling as they took in the colorful booths, the sights and sounds and even the smells. The food court in the Wells Fargo Bank parking lot, with its colorful umbrella tables and live entertainment by the Brownsmead Flats, was packed with market-goers enjoying oysters, teriyaki chicken, tamales, pizza, Thai cuisine and other tasty offerings.

“Oh, it’s fun, the food, the stalls, the music. It’s great,” enthused Helen Wattley-Ames, a Seattle resident with a second home in Astoria. “I love the fruit and produce and the plant stands and the food court and the music.”

Astoria resident Fred Higgins said he and his wife decided to eat at the food court instead of going to a restaurant. He liked the “toe-tapping” entertainment that accompanied their lunch and said he enjoyed seeing so many different people and businesses. “It’s better than going to the airport,” Higgins said.

“The music really added to our lunch, said Rich Parker, who moved to Astoria two years ago from Federal Way, Wash. “I like the choices. There were lines but I think we only waited 10 minutes to get our food.”

Sandy Pellikaan, from Portland, brought her son, Noah, and Victor, a teenage exchange student from Thailand. For them, the entertainment was the best thing about the market. “The boys loved the music,” Pellikaan said. “This is our first time out here and it’s much better than the Portland market,” she said.

By early afternoon, shoppers and browsers were shoulder to shoulder. But the mood was festive rather than frenetic.

For Gary Krois and Tony Groat, of Woodland, Wash., the market was a happy discovery. They read about it in The Daily Astorian that was in their hotel room when they arrived in Astoria Friday night.

KIM ERSKINE – The Daily Astorian

Looking for unique local souvenirs, Ali Brady and Pam Wideman inspect handmade pens at a booth during the Astoria Sunday Market. Krois liked the handicrafts best, especially woodworking. He bought a maple “puzzle box” that was cut out with a band saw. Groat said she liked the “variety and the uniqueness” of the market. “You have the different artists,” she said, “and all the fresh produce and the fresh baked breads.” She said there are lots of choices and the prices are usually reasonable.

Beginning its fifth season, the Astoria Sunday Market is bigger than ever, with a record 204 booths this year. More than half the vendors are local people, said John Compere, who helps his wife Joyce Compere, the market’s executive director, make the market happen every year. He said local people are given preference whenever possible, and the three vendors with the highest sales each week in 2004 were all from Clatsop County.

A large percentage of vendors are women and many are minorities, Joyce Compere said. Some, like Robin Caton and Terra Glaspey, have used their success at the Sunday Market as a springboard for “brick and mortar” businesses in downtown Astoria. Glaspey owns Terra Tones and Caton opened Old Things and Objects.

Last year, the market’s total sales were $850,000, up from $600,000 in 2003, making it a real economic engine for the community.

How does Joyce Compere come up with the eclectic mix that makes Astoria Sunday Market so successful?

“The market wants Oregon-raised, Oregon-grown and Oregon wild,” Compere said. “I look at society as a whole and make choices that reflect taste, cultural and income differences.” That’s why there’s handmade soap, homemade aprons and apple pie as well as Oregon wines, gourmet goat cheese and a tarot card reader. Flowers, seafood and fruits and vegetables consistently get rave reviews.

“I go to the market for vegetables – and flowers. See?” said Beverly Howes, of Medford, holding up her Mother’s Day bouquet. “No matter what city we live in, we do our veggie shopping at farmers’ markets and we always buy flowers. We like to support flower growers,” she said.

Her son, Doug Howes, in the process of moving to Astoria from Seattle, said he liked the live music and the food, especially crab cakes, but “When all the farmers get here with their produce I’ll like it a lot more.”

Another newcomer, Dr. Truman Sasaki, moved to Astoria last July and opened a new surgical practice. Carrying a a toy poodle in each hand, he strolled among the booths with his wife, who was holding their third poodle. “We take about three times as long when we come to the market with the dogs because they get a lot of attention,” Norma Sasaki said.

The Sasakis apparently used the extra time to take full advantage of what the market had to offer. “There’s a man who had hydroponic veggies – I got some wonderful tomatoes there,” Norma Sasaki said. “The crafts are beautiful. We got German sausage, which was wonderful. The cut flowers are fabulous – beautiful irises. And we got a gorgeous hat for our granddaughter – it’s mohair and hand-knitted.”

KIM ERSKINE – The Daily Astorian

Vine ripened red tomatoes glisten in the sun like jewels at the Astoria Sunday Market.Sasaki said all the craft vendors are “friendly and accommodating” and they had no trouble finding a parking space. “We always spend more than we should, but it’s a wonderful market,” she said.

“I think it’s absolutely fabulous,” said Helen McDaniel, of Astoria. “I cannot believe how big it’s gotten. When I think of five years back – the puny little market we had. And look at it now. It’s incredible. It’s absolutely great – if you could turn off the rain,” McDaniel said, as she and her husband sought refuge inside a booth from a downpour that started about 45 minutes before the market’s 3 p.m. closing time.

Don McDaniel echoed his wife’s praise of the Astoria Sunday Market. “I just love it here. I think Joyce Compere has done so much. She’s brought in so many good vendors. Everybody’s happy with it,” he said. “So I think Joyce walks on water.”

Vendors seem to agree. Scott Edwards and his wife, Dixie, own Watershed Garden Works in Longview, Wash., and return year after year. He called the Comperes very supportive and professional. “Awesome,” he said. “My wife and I are very impressed with the market management.”

It’s Julie Hoffman’s second year selling pies from Hoffman’s Dairy Garden in Canby. “I love this market – it’s an awesome venue. Joyce and John are wonderful to work with.” She said she does five markets a week, and this is one of her favorites.

Dennis Mason, of Ridgefield, Wash., tried to get a booth last year, but there was no room. “We plan on being here all summer long,” he said Sunday, as he handed out samples of his Country Pride Farm goat cheese. “There are lots of people here today. I like the atmosphere.”

“Everybody had a great time in spite of the rain,” said Joyce Compere. “We had record-breaking crowds.”

Compere estimated at least 5,000 people attended the market, which had more booths than ever this year. She thanked everybody for their cooperation in setting up and taking down the market, which she said was the equivalent of the Crab and Seafood Festival, held last month at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds.