Public Markets Group to Honor Eastern Market
Long known as a centerpiece of Capitol Hill society, Eastern Market will be honored with the 2005 Great Community Place Award at this weekend’s 6th International Public Markets Conference “Great Markets, Great Cities.” The event, presented by the Project for Public Spaces, a New York-based nonprofit organization, runs Oct. 28-31 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.
The award will be handed out to representatives from the market’s North and South Halls, Flea Market and Community Advisory Council by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) on the conference’s final day.
Bolstered in recent years by the installment of its Farmers Market and Flea Market — open on Saturdays and Sundays, respectively — Eastern Market earned nothing but praise from PPS Senior Vice President Steve Davies.
“Eastern Market is an exciting example of how a public market can provide economic opportunity for both long-standing businesses and new entrepreneurs — and become a destination for all kinds of people,” Davies said in a press release.
The tri-annual conference focuses on bringing together public market and farmers’ market operators, as well as market advocates from around the world. Public market delegates at the event will also take the weekend to tour other local markets in both the District and Baltimore, including FRESHFARM’s Dupont Circle and H Street markets and local neighborhood markets in Mount Pleasant and Adams Morgan.
— Tom Gottlieb