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Weekly farmers market set for Chimborazo Park
04/01/2014 3:07 PM by John M
[GrowRVA] Founder Karen Atkinson said the weekly Chimborazo Park event will be similar to GrowRVA’s popular South of the James Market with a vendor mix of about 80 percent local food producers and 20 percent artists.
Atkinson hopes to have between 20 and 30 venders signed on for the June 7 inaugural Chimborazo Farmers Market.
I’ve always thought this park would be a great place to have a farmers market. Looking forward to June…!!
Awesome!
This is so exciting! It would be great if vendors could take EBT or SNAP so that it’s accessible to more people. Also Church Hill rocks.
Looking forward to rolling out of bed and walking over with coffee in hand. Hope the Amish donut vendor will come here, too! This is great for the hood.
GrowRVA: Thank you so much for coming to Chimborazo Park!! This is so exciting! Are we lucky or what??!!
What an embarrassment for the City of Richmond and the 17th Street Farmers’ Market. Clearly there’s a need for a suitable market near downtown but the historic site must have been passed over for good business reasons.
#4 Great idea!
Back when this idea was floated in the fall, I was assured that there would be plenty of opportunity for community input. ANd BOOM here it is without any. Richmond politics as usual.
I am not saying it is a good thing or a bad thing. But the rules should be followed. There are legitimate concerns about parking and traffic to be worked out. Chimborazo lacks the parking lot that Forrest Hill Park has.
I’ve never posted any comment on this page without people verbally attacking me for having an opinion. But I will say it anyway. I’m not 100% thrilled about this. I have concerns about parking, congestion and litter.
Also, while I might enjoy walking around the market, I can’t usually buy much from farmers markets because they are expensive. $6 pints of blueberries are out of my reach.
I am also slightly concerned with the parking. The good thing there is lots of street parking…. through the park streets and what not. I think it will take some time to get to the size of forest hill…..
But I agree with the trash, I hope they surely clean up after the event, because you cannot depend on the city for that… overall Chimbo is pretty clean. With the exception of those who let their dogs take a dump anywhere they please when they think people arent looking.
This is a great addition to the neighborhood. It would be awesome if we could have some of our local businesses featured here too – Sub Rosa, Proper Pie, Souperb, WPA, et al would be great additions to give this market a Church Hill feel.
Sad to see the usual whining that comes with anything nice and new around here. There’s a handful of people around here who if $100 bills started falling from the sky would complain that the bills were messing up their lawn.
As chair of the park group for this park, I have worked with the city, neighbors, donors, etc to improve the park for the past several years. This effort involves showing community movies, landscape improvements, helping with dog park issues, etc.
In the fall, when rumors of a farmers market reached me, I was initially excited, but cautious. I checked with as many of the neighbors around the park as I could and recieved favorable but cautious responses. Everyone liked the idea but most people realized that the park is not set up for something like this. It lacks a parking lot and thr traffic flow could cause issues.
I took my concerns to the city parks dept and was assured that no farmers market had been approved and none would be approved without community input. Which is what I am frustrated about. If we worked together, perhaps we could solved some issues and alleviate some concerns. But apparently that is not to be.
Hopefully, Grow RVA and the farmers market will be a good neighbor and respect our park. So far, they are not off to a good start.
Is the section down below the dog park a usable area for parking?
@katzenjammer-
While I agree that Richmond farmer’s markets tend to have some splurge items like the $6 blueberries, I have found that they are also usually a great source of cheap, fresh veggies. For things that grow well in Virginia, the prices are usually lower and the quality is usually MUCH higher than what I find at local supermarkets. I’m thinking tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, all kinds of squash, melons, and the list goes on… I encourage anyone who thinks farmer’s markets only have expensive items to take the time to look at the prices at each stand, because there are many healthy, tasty deals to find!
I completely agree with Chimbo on this one. How hard is it to involve or at least attempt to communicate with the community? I would love to have a farmers market this close to home. But lets just do it right with the appropriate planning.
Chimbo how do you get involved or be part of the park group?
@ Chimbo
You have an extremely legitimate concern about the lack of communication with the community around the park. From the BizSense article:
The Chimborazo Park Farmers Market took shape over the past year after Councilwoman Cynthia Newbille reached out to GrowRVA to add a market to Church Hill. GrowRVA spokesman Doug Grisevich said Newbille has been the driving force behind opening the market at Chimborazo Park, which sits at the middle of the 7th District that she represents.
“She has been a crusader in making this happen,” Grisevich said.
I think your issue is with your Councilwoman who forgot to involve her constituents. FYI, from talking to the GrowRVA people, there does not appear to be a set place yet for the market to be situated, so maybe you can have some input on that to alleviate as many parking and traffic issues as possible.
As a regular dog park user, I really don’t want people zooming down the hill to park when I’m walking my dogs to and from my car. It’s hard enough with the normal traffic we get down there and will get even worse with the cider people working on their apple trees and the Tree Stewards working on their trees. That’s 3 large groups using 1 parking lot with a newly announced farmer’s market on top. At what point do we reach saturation?
My previous attempts to contact our esteemed councilwoman have all resulted with a lack of response from both her and her staff person. So, I am not sure if she is interested in discussing issues with neighbors.
That being said, I am trying to get a discussion going with the parks department, since they are the ones who grant licenses for such events.
As for being involved in park issues, I post all meetings and events on CHPN. If you have any other concerns you can email me at Friendsofchimborazo@gmail.com
Thanks
John Drew Clay, Chair
Friends of Chimborazo Park.
I am ecstatic about the Farmer’s market coming to Church Hill. I only recently became acquainted with the SOTJ Market, and though I love it, it was hard to drag myself out of bed on Saturday mornings and drive all the way to Forest Hill.
It will be so much easier to wake up and bike over, now! I’m so excited! Maybe this neighborhood can have nice things after all…
Please don’t ruin this for us, busybodies.
Chimbo, you have addressed the concerns very eloquently. I do not understand how “community” projects can happen without community input which is clearly what happened here.
To those who condemn the few who ask questions…it is pure stupidity to blindly follow and now see that each action as an equal reaction…
Parking at the dog park area is a no go. That parking lot is for the people who have dogs and utilize the Bark Park.
While I like the idea, I think there needs to be a lot more involvement by those who are impacted in the community.
It might be a good idea for the 60 folks who already gave this a thumbs up to write Rep. Newbille and thank her. As always, there’s going to be a vocal but hysterical minority who thinks nothing is more important than being able to park right in front of their house every single time they come home. If we learned anything from the Buzzy’s debacle it’s that vocal minorities carry a lot of weight.
God Bless America and heaven forbid we ever need to walk an extra ten feet because something cool is happening! This park belongs to the busybodies, not the City of Richmond!
I don’t want to try to bring some reason to the discussion before this gets all sky is falling panicky…
1. Unlike Forest Hill, Church Hill is sufficiently populated enough that a lot of the customers of this market are likely to be from the neighborhood and will walk.
2. Most of the nearby residents should already have their cars in place before the market crowd arrives. If you park on Friday night, nobody’s towing your car. You’re fine.
3. The farmers market in Forest Hill put that neighborhood on the map. It’s been great for attracting people to the neighborhood. Attracting people to the neighborhood = higher home values for all of us.
4. If you’re so lazy that you can’t walk a block or two because someone parked in your spot one day, you need to eat more fresh veggies. Farmer’s markets have fresh veggies.
5. Who the fuck drives their dog to the dog park? Spot’s not the only one who needs exercise. Or if you absolutely need to take your car down there, there are 164 other hours in the week. Surely Spot can live without going this very minute right?
I am STOKED for this- I am 2 blocks away and am all over it!!!!
How will this detract from SOTJ? Will vendors decamp to join the new market? Sounds like Grow RVA will spread themselves too thin.
Oh, Alex, you totally crack me up (re: your #5)!!
@Alex, your #27 is the best thing you’ve ever posted on CHPN. I’m stoked about this – I love SOTJ, but what I don’t love is going South of the River on a Saturday to drive to another neighborhood to buy veggies – instead I could walk 5 blocks. Genius.
How is having a farmer’s market in Chimborazo NOT awesome?
Also, I’m with Alex. I don’t understand the people that drive their dogs to the dog park.
Sounds great to me as long as there isn’t trash everywhere! I’ll walk there for it and grab some veggies! This might be a good spot temporarily while the Shockoe Farmer’s Market gets renovated. Alex, I love your comments! I think a lot of folks come from OUTSIDE our area to the dog park. I can’t imagine why folks would be too lazy to walk.
@27 Alex, clearly you don’t understand dogs. Dogs LOVE their routine and if they want to be at the park at a certain time on a certain day, then that is what they want and clearly that is the dog owner’s right to go at a time that is conducive to them. You have not taken into account that some dog owners have multiple dogs with multiple needs, some dogs enjoy their time at the park very much but are not able to walk that distance as well as enjoy the park. Some pups don’t share the same tempo. As you clearly pointed out the neighborhood people should walk to market, so “why the fuck” should they drive their cars to the dog park?
All I’m saying is for once can everyone just give it a try before we start going nuts? If there’s a bunch of trash after the first Saturday, let’s post that up here and we’ll all have something real to bitch about. If parking sucks, we can ask the city to come up with a better solution (or you can be clever and not move your car on Saturday).
These worst case arguments every time something new gets proposed are really getting tiring folks.
When I’ve gone to SOTJ I’ve seen a lot of Church Hill people there, so I think the panic over parking is going to be moot. I agree with Alex that this market will be a neighborhood thing first and foremost. I just hope that the vendor selection is good and I’m psyched that this is only three blocks away.
CHIMBO or John Drew Clay, (Chair Friends of Chimborazo Park). Please contact me at 814 1066 to discuss this imporant neighborhood issue and impact on the community, (both positive and negative).
I live on Marshall in the 3300 block (1 block off the park) and couldn’t be more excited about this! I will gladly give up the parking spot I typically get in front of my house (because half the block is abandoned homes) to people who’d like to visit the market Saturday mornings…. The benefits I see this bringing to the neighborhood far exceed my inconveniences.
It is discouraging and frustrating to read these complaints and worst case scenarios. Especially up here – I thought that this part of Church Hill was more progressive and open minded. These negative comments read as NiMBY and it’s embarrassing.
My daughter and her partner have lived in Forest Hill for 4 years. Their block is the first block outside of the SOTJ market. They love it. Markets are early morning events. They are over and done by 12-1 pm and the people – and cars – are gone. Trash has never been an issue. They love the influx of people into their neighborhood on Saturdays. If they have to go out on a Saturday morning, parking is not an issue by the time they return.
Come on neighbors – this is an awesome opportunity for Chimborazo Park, which is underutilized and has been too long treated like a second cousin 3 times removed in favor of Libby Hill.
Please, neighbors, don’t kill this, too.
I have to agree. This is a great opportunity to let our neighborhood shine. I certainly agree having an open & ongoing discussion with all residents would have been optimal, but expecting such from our local leaders & gov’t is a fools errand. Let’s welcome this with open arms & if there are tweaks that need to be made along the way, handle them like adults. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
While i don’t live on The Hill any longer, I moved to the Forest Hill area and live on Stonewall Ave overlooking the entrance to the SOTJ Market. Yes there is additional traffic Saturday mornings and yes there are additional people as well. It’s not a noisy event and there is not an overabundance of trash, etc. I love living where I do and love having the market so accessible. GrowRVA has worked with our neighborhood association numerous times when small issues have come up and they are very receptive to feedback. I lived on The Hill for 8 years and would have loved a market at Chimbo when I loved there. I have to agree with Alex on this even though I have no skin in the game. Give it a shot before shooting it down. Very sad to hear so many people bitching about something that will be great for your community. Give it a chance!
Wow. It’s not like they’re trying to put a baseball stadium there, but you’d think so given all the push back.
I was just surfing the GrowRVA website and noticed that the Chimborazo Market has been removed from the “Markets” tab and removed on the calendar of events. So is this being cancelled? Does anyone have any info on this?
I hope that doesn’t mean that the usual suspects were successful again in making sure that nothing new, interesting, or fun descends upon the Hill.