To me, this falls under the "evidence that we live in a great place" column. Here’s the situation:
1. Charlottesville has a rockin’ farmer’s market. (Well, several actually; I speak of the granddaddy, the City Market.) It’s popular, it’s big, it extends throughout most of the year if you count the Holiday Market, and it’s been around for decades.
2. The market also has a support organization, Market Central, whose members are working hard to make sure this beloved institution has a secure, well-planned future.
3. Market Central is in the middle of deliberations about what the long-term outlook for the market will be. City Council’s involved, consultants are involved; there’s a task force and a UVA partnership; it’s major. A recommendation was floated this summer to turn the current market site into a more permanent "market district."
4. The people who actually shop at the market–that means you, I bet–can and should weigh in. Wednesday. At JABA, from 6 to 7:30pm. It’s a "listening session" at which tomato buyers, flower appreciators, taco queuers, and craft collectors are invited to put their two cents in Market Central’s kitty, so that as the market evolves, it suits as many folks’ needs as possible.
5. Unless I miss my guess, the session will draw a lot of very smart, very interested people with helpful things to say.
I tell you, it makes me proud to live around here, with this kind of cooperation toward such an important goal. World-class, indeed.