With the Village Green market of the National Arts Festival being reshuffled, the traders at Fiddlers Market (located where the Village Green was in previous years) have been left isolated and dissatisfied.
With the Village Green market of the National Arts Festival being reshuffled, the traders at Fiddlers Market (located where the Village Green was in previous years) have been left isolated and dissatisfied.
One of the main issues is that the traders had not been informed about the move before Festival commenced. On Friday night the director of the Village Green and Fiddler’s markets Selena White and her management team from the Grahamstown Foundation met the disgruntled traders of Fiddler’s Market to resolve the problems that were becoming more and more apparent as the National Arts Festival got underway.
For the first time this year the Village Green was moved to the Great Field on Rhodes campus and the Church Square traders- as well as some stalls which do not meet the criteria for the new and improved market- were moved to the renamed Fiddler’s Market at the old Village Green site. These traders were previously guaranteed exposure as shoppers were attracted by the Village Green as well as thoroughfare on High Street.
However as the Festival entered its second day it became obvious that Fiddler’s Market was isolated. One trader, who prefers to remain anonymous, booked a double stall a year in advance, paying R6000 for the duration of Festival. However, he was not informed of the arrangement. Having traded at 10 previous National Arts Festivals he is indignant that his goods are no longer considered appropriate for the main market which is now exclusively for handmade crafts.
On Thursday night the Fiddler’s traders got together to discuss a plan of action. They decided that they would set up a meeting with White the next day to voice their concerns. However, on Friday morning only two traders met with White as the transport that she had organised for the traders was insufficient. Nevertheless White said she try would try to resolve their concerns and meet with them later that evening.
But Friday night’s meeting was marred by the antagonistic attitudes of both traders and management staff. Traders complained that management had failed to take their concerns seriously. This left traders scrambling to find a place to sell the night before Saturday, the Festival’s busiest trading day.
The meeting struggled to reach a resolution as traders could not agree on a mutually beneficial solution. Some wanted refunds (most having spent approximately R3000 to hire a stall – the same price as stalls at the better attended Village Green), others were willing to remain at Fiddlers Market if advertising and entertainment to draw visitors was provided.
The majority seemed to want to be integrated into the Village Green but accepted that this was not possible. In the end most chose to return to Church Square without the secure containers they had paid for as resources are not available for them to be moved from Fiddler’s Market. A handful of traders are still located at Fiddlers Market, seeing as they had already paid for that space (which is more expensive than on the square) and security is better because the containers are close by.
Selena White offered her sincere apologies saying that she was unaware of the magnitude of the traders difficulties until Friday morning. She emphasised that the committee’s errors were unintentional and that they had limited resources with which to correct them.
Carrie Faulks (who is exhibiting on behalf of a non-profit organisation) said she estimated they could lose R10 000 due to poor attendance. Glen Adendorff referred to Fiddlers Market as "the ghetto" and said his sales were unlikely to cover the R3000 he has spent on travel and accommodation. Claire Shadbolt of The In Thing, a first time exhibitor, was similarly disappointed, having made only one R25 sale in two days. Another trader said that she usually made roughly R4000 on her first day at previous festivals. This year she earned only R200 at the new Fiddler’s Market.
A visit to Church Square on Saturday morning revealed an obvious change; the square which had been uncharacteristically quiet for the previous two days is now packed with stalls while many locked and deserted containers are still at Fiddler’s Market. Many traders remain dissatisfied with their separation from the Village Green saying that sales still appear to be reduced in comparison to previous years.
However Johan van der Bank of Soonies is very happy. He sells cooked chicken and relies on night time trade. While Village Green and Fiddler’s Market would require him to close at 5pm he was able to stay open until 9pm on Saturday and reached the target sales he had aimed for. Despite his positive attitude he is still disappointed by the "segregation" of the two markets and is uncertain whether he will return next year.
