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Mile-Hi Farmers Market

After a nice but snowy trip to Chicago & Detroit to visit/meet my family, we're back in the land of enchantment...I've never been more happy to call this place home.  In the snow Cameron decided to make an honest woman out of me and put a shiny rock on my finger, now I really feel home with my biggest motivator and best friend.

Now with the feeling we can accomplish anything together, we are stoked to announce our newest venture...
 (as if we needed another)

We will be managing the newest farmers' market in Albuquerque: 
Mile-Hi Farmers Market at Alvarado Park in the newly named Mile-Hi neighborhood.

Renegade Poultry was the first vendor to sign up to be at the market and it was our first market to be at.  It's pretty fitting that we take over as we know first hand what the market represents for this neighborhood.


  This little seed of an idea has been slowly growing in my head since probably December when Cameron got word of the management position being up in the air for the 2015 season.  Cameron works with James, who is one of the market's board members, and his wife Heather who actually made the market happen.  Heather dove into all the planning, permitting, and all the bureaucratic hoops to get the market going last July, despite all her effort (the woman oozes will-power) the market didn't get clearance until pretty late in the season.  We had 8 weeks of market from the last week in August to the end of October.  For us it was awesome, we got people interested in the idea of renting chickens and got all of our first 10 sign-ups at our booth in Alvarado Park.  We've been supporting the market and marketing for it since we've been there, to help Heather with our reach on social media and because by extension it's marketing for us too.

Upon my return last Tuesday evening, I was hesitant to open my e-mail, fully aware of all the messages I got attached to and mentioned in the whole time we were blissfully avoiding spending too much time "working" while on the ONLY real vacation we've ever been on...ever.  It was pretty stressful trying to catch up on all those e-mails on Wednesday (all while working a busy 12h shift).  But it doesn't end there, Thursday & Friday was the New Mexico Farmers Market Association's annual Market Managers Conference...

Though the conference was really a life preserver in the unknown depths of managing a farmers market, we learned a ton and met some really helpful market managers from all over the state.  Its intense how much actually goes into a farmers market, and I sat there realizing the scope of it with every passing presentation.

I have some moments where it all seems like too much - I get flighty, but all Cameron replies "it'll be a funny story to tell the kiddos someday" and suddenly all the stress seems worth being able to tell that story, and it doesn't really seem like stress at all.


forever grateful*
-jennifer




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