After-dark farmers market stuns with popularity in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - In a sight not typical for downtown Cedar Rapids on a late Saturday night, tens of thousands of people packed streets and businesses during the weekend's after-dark farmers market - a popularity that astonished organizers.

The Farmers' Market After Dark event was part of celebrating the 10th anniversary of summer farmers markets in Cedar Rapids.

While nearly 8,000 people committed to going to it on the event's Facebook page, about 34,000 actually showed up, said festival organizers. In contrast, 14,000 patrons on average attend the farmers markets on a Saturday morning.

'If anything, it is a greater success than what we expected,” said Doug Neumann, executive vice president of the Cedar Rapids Economic Alliance, the group that co-sponsored the event.

Knowing how popular the event can be will help the group plan better for the future, he said, although he's not sure when the next after-dark market will be, or how often it will occur.

'We want to make sure this is in no way ever replacing the regular downtown farmers market,” Neumann said.

Unless there's a concert or major event in the area, throngs of people are not commonly seen downtown at night. Neumann said he thinks the popularity shows a need for more such events.

'I think we're hearing from people that they enjoy and support festivals, the opportunity to come together in a social setting and have a celebration like this,” he said.

While excited by the extra business, some vendors and businesses were taken aback by the volume of customers who flooded downtown.

La Cantina, a restaurant on Second Street SE, experienced 45 minute waits for service between 5:30 and 10 p.m., said manager Heather Clark.

'From a business standpoint, it was very beneficial,” Clark said.

Red's Public House, also on Second Street, likewise saw large crowds that night, similar to ones that would show up for big events like the St. Patrick's Day parade, said bar manager Teesha Sell.

'I know we had a really good night. We did really well,” she said. 'We get busy on Saturday anyway but we got busier earlier than we normally do.”

Vendors, too, experienced high volume. Organizers said there were about 80 vendors, but with a heavier mix than a typical morning farmers market on art, jewelry, gifts and the like.

Tim Palmer, owner of The Salsa Guy stand, said at one point he had a line 150 yards long.

His rib-eye steaks were gone in 35 minutes.

'This was a great idea. Whoever the evil genius was who came up with this idea really put their finger on the pulse of what this town was asking for,” Palmer said. 'I really loaded up on food, but even then, I still got surprised by the number of people.”

That Cupcake Place sold out of cupcakes by 9:30 p.m.

'It was a rush. It was amazing,” said owner Teresa Pinkerton. 'It gave us a rush we've never had, and I'm talking about emotions, the things that you go through. It was pretty amazing. We're veterans of farmers markets. It's the most fun we've ever had.