The West Palm Beach Greenmarket Kicks Off Its 31st Season!

West Palm Beach's Community Events Manager Angela Poco discusses the new season of the award-winning Greenmarket which starts Saturday, October 4.  

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Joel Malcolm for WJNO dot com, and we are
talking about the West Palm Beach, the award winning green
market in West Palm Beach. And who better to join
us to talk about that than West Palm Beach Community
Events manager Angela Poco. Thank you for joining me.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Angela, thank you so much for having me this morning.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
So this has been refresh my memory. How many it's
more than thirty years now.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Right, we're going into our thirty first season of our
green market.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
That is incredible. I remember we used to talk to
your predecessor, Mary Pennock, and she had been there from
the beginning. I don't think you're quite you've been there
quite as long, but you've been around for a while
though with the I'm not trying to aid you, it's okay.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
I'm on fifteen years actually, so I've been around for
a little while.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
So you've seen you've seen half of that second half
of its time so far, all right.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
I really did. I got to experience it because from
when I first started, we moved it from its old
location into its new location, and we had moved over
and we thought we were like super cool, starting with
forty five vendors, and we'll talk about a little bit
more about how much it's grown in those fifteen years.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
So and you went right where I was going to
take you. I was going to ask you, you know,
what are some of the biggest differences that you could
see from I guess twenty ten right to now, and
it would be I guess your triple the vendors now,
tell me about that, because I think it's a new record.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
Absolutely. So this this season brings even more like just
amazing vendors. We're featuring a record number of vendors. We're
coming in at one hundred and fifty regular vendors, and
we're also doing a sprouts program which will alternate vendors
that haven't quite got the market experience that they need

(02:00):
for our market because we are a high volume market.
But we're going to help mentor them and get them
to where hopefully they'll be able to be a regular
vendor in our market. So roughly, we're looking at, you know,
one hundred and sixty four vendors altogether, so pretty big number.

Speaker 1 (02:18):
So you say forty five new additions that that means
if I'm doing the math correctly, one hundred and five
are people that were at least there last year and
probably several other years.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yes, and me also the super we've done this this
market this year means so much. So our theme is
from the ground up and for us that had so
many different meanings. Our city is obviously thriving and it's growing,
but looking at it from a small perspective of what
our market does, our market has provided the opportunity for

(02:55):
so many businesses to open up a brick and mortar.
You know, they started from a com step, they started
in our market, and like we watched them grow and
it's so amazing. And that was also why we chose
to put a Sprouts program in place, because a lot
of these small businesses have great ideas or a great product,
but they just don't know how to market it and

(03:15):
they don't know how to get it out in front
of people. So with the Sprouts program, we want to
be able to help them with social media, maybe run
them through the small business program that the city has,
and just be able to give them some opportunities that
they might not have been able to have. And we
just feel it's so so important to invest in your vendors.

(03:36):
And with that, like we also recognize that some of
our vendors have been with us for a long time,
some all the way back to our first market. So
we put in a legacy program this year, so if
you're fifteen years or more with our market, you no
longer have to go through our judging process. Which so
we have fourteen of them that have been with us
for a very long time and we're very, very excited

(03:59):
to honor them.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
So, so walk me through the process or somebody that's
a new So I've got a business and I, you know,
and I want to take part for the first time,
I have to. It's not as simple as just paying
to be a part of it. You actually have to
be approved.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
Yeah, So this year we had over nine hundred applicants
for this judging process, and then we have to sort
through all of them to make sure that they're viable.
Because we do stay true to what a green market
should look like. We have certain percentages of farmers that
we want per a certain percentage of cafe vendors. We
don't just want anybody with any type of product, any

(04:41):
little chotski. So they have to all go through a
judging process. Once we get them into the right categories,
they literally have to bring their product in. It goes
in front of a peer panel of judges that are
not city employees, but they're specialists in either events. They're chefs,
they're caterers, they understand event industries like they're marketing people.

(05:04):
And it's really quite a fascinating project to watch this
and it takes it took us five days to get
through all of these vendors, so it's it's a big
deal and people don't realize how much work goes into this.
But again, we want to be able to showcase the
best and the best, and this allows us to do that.

Speaker 1 (05:26):
Sounds like Shark Tank just a.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
Little bit, It really kind of is, but like it's
just you know, you get to hear their stories and
you see their products, and you know, it's it's really
interesting and you see their passion for things and it
gives you a whole different perspective.

Speaker 1 (05:43):
By the way, I buried the lead, the green Market
is back this Saturday. I don't think I said that
at the onset, but but yes, October, this interview is
going up on the on the website and you know
folks will be able to see that anyway. But yeah, Saturday,
October fourth, So it's this Saturday, tell me Okay. So
we know the differences in the last fifteen years. We

(06:06):
talked to Mary, and we know the differences from when
it first started unbelievable. But what about from just last
year and you talked about the sprouts program. What else
is something that I, as a as a visitor, as
a guest that would show up, would notice from last
year to this year? Anything?

Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, absolutely, So a couple of things. We've changed the
time of the market so you have a little bit
more shopping time now eight thirty to one thirty. And
instead of ending in April, we're going to end in
May this year, so we're going to go all the
way through May. So that's number one. First first difference.
But we've changed We've really locked down our market with

(06:46):
road closures to create a safe and open environment for
our guests to be able to walk around and you know,
not worry about trying to cross the road in between blocks.
And so we've really taken a look at it from
a safety perspective to make sure that our guests have
the best possible experience that they can have from the
time they arrive, from when they park to when they

(07:07):
start walking down the street.

Speaker 1 (07:09):
And speaking of parking, any changes with regards to that,
and either way, let me let me know kind of
the rundown on that.

Speaker 2 (07:16):
Now, actually there's there's been no change in parking where
if you're you know, if you're in by like you know,
you're in at a thirty and you're out by you know,
one thirty, it's a five dollars flat feet a park.
There are so many garages around us, but there's four
or five city garages that are all within walking distance
of the market because it has such a large footprint.

(07:40):
But you know, it's you just have to know your
way around and follow the signage and you'll get to
parking with no problem.

Speaker 1 (07:46):
And now there are I guess two garages that are
the closest ones and they they are a five dollars
weekend flat rate, the Banyon any Verna. So so just
knowledge of that. But the other ones should be free.
Like you said, as long as you're out of there
by one thirty, don't try to stay there at three
o'clock because you went to have lunch and.

Speaker 2 (08:06):
Expect to then worst case scenario, you're just paying the
five dollar flat fee. So it's not horrible.

Speaker 1 (08:12):
Oh, even at the other even at the other garages.

Speaker 2 (08:14):
Even at the other garage, you're out afterwards, you're just
playing the five dollar flat fee for the day.

Speaker 1 (08:19):
Okay, Well, that's that's good to know.

Speaker 2 (08:21):
You know.

Speaker 1 (08:21):
I went to downtown Nashville in July and I had
never been. They have the Broadway Avenue area. That's where
all the honky tonks are, all the all the country
singers and John Bunjovie by the way, so I have
to throw him in there because he's not a country singer,
but he's got one there now. But that parking is
ridiculous there. It's just real.

Speaker 2 (08:42):
Yeah. Yeah, it's funny because you know, with all the
growth that we're seeing, people still that's one of people
they complain about parking. I'm like, have you gone to Miami?
Have you gone to some other cities. We are very
very reasonable with especially on the weekends, because they try
to do the weekend rate, and I think that's great. Know,
it encourages people to come down here and just enjoy

(09:04):
the day. And even with that, we think about that too,
because so when you ask me other things that are new.
We took on a new category this year of health
and Wellness because we recognize that people are trying to
do things differently and they're you know, so we now
have a health and wellness category, but to one up
that because the Crazy and Me likes to provide as

(09:29):
much possible options for our patrons as possible. We want
them to come down, we want them to stay play,
whether they eat at our merchants or they're eating at
our market. We want them to enjoy the day downtown.
So we have all different workshops that people can sign
up for in advance. On the first day, we have

(09:50):
a pop up wine workshop, so it's all about Tuscany wines.
There's only four more tickets left, so it should sell out,
but you know. And the next one we've got a
floor flower arranging class, so not only can you experience
some of the products that we have at the market,
you can also be involved in like how to do

(10:12):
flower arranging. The week after that, we've got a pilates class.
You can come down and take a pilates class and
then feel the Greens is giving you a beverage afterwards
to try so and but they're all local studios to downtown,
so you might fall in love with one of these instructors.
Or that class, and then say, I really would like
to join that gym. That was really a great class.

(10:33):
But we're going to have all different activities as well happening,
so you can come down, take a class, shop, eat,
just enjoy what West Palm Beach has.

Speaker 1 (10:42):
To offer, and just we're going to wrap up in
a second here, but before we do, I just for
somebody that's you know, looking at this and maybe they're
new to the area. We have new people moving here
all the time, as you know, you know, what is
the big deal. It's just a farmer's market here. You know.
If they're thinking that, here's the thing. You guys three
years in a row, twenty one to twenty three topped

(11:07):
USA Today's ten Best Reader's Choice awards for green markets
around the country. And I followed that and that was incredible.
And I want to say, even within either maybe in
the last year or two, you were like number two
or three somewhere. So it's not like I too.

Speaker 2 (11:23):
I think they Yeah, I'm I'm calling prejudice a little bit,
but yeah, I think they didn't want us to win anymore.
But I think our people speak for ourselves, our visitors
speak for ourselves, you know, we do see. We see
about about twenty thousand people every weekend. For whatever reason,

(11:43):
they love this market. And I think it is because
it's an open air market, and you know, it's just
it has such a vibe to it. It's such a
comfort Vibely if you're done shopping and you just want
to sit in the great law and listen to some music,
you are right off the inner coastal. Where else can
you get that view. So yeah, it's just it's a

(12:05):
great market, and not just because it's our market, but
it really is a place to be and I think
that's that's so important because you could run in anywhere
and shop, but you can shop, take your time, and
you always find something new, no matter every time you
come you have you find a new vendor, and I
think that's the fun part about our market.

Speaker 1 (12:25):
All right, Well, I appreciate you taking the time and
talk to us about it again. City West Palm Beach,
the award winning green market opening up this Saturday, October fourth,
new hours eight thirty to one thirty new vendors and
a record number of them at one hundred and fifty
in its thirty first year. Angela Poco West Palm Beach
Community Events Manager. Thank you for joining me.

Speaker 2 (12:47):
Jill, thank you so much.