One of San Luis Obispo’s longest running and most successful tourist draws is turning 30 this year.
The Thursday night Downtown Farmers’ Market, renowned as the second largest farmers’ market in California, draws an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 people weekly to five blocks of Higuera Street for barbecue, produce and entertainment. The market also gives visitors another reason to tack an extra day on the weekend and arrive early to take in the festivities.
“Farmers’ Market is a big attraction and a huge selling point to entice travelers to come a day early,” said Grace Allen, director of Visitor Services for the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce. “That translates into occupied hotel rooms, full restaurants and busy retailers.”
“Thursday Night Activities”, as it was known in the beginning, started after the City began blocking off Higuera Street to curb the growing popularity of car cruising on Thursday nights. It was started in the summer of 1983 by the San Luis Obispo Downtown Association (then called the Business Improvement Association), and featured downtown business vendors, barbecues and volleyball, Executive Director Deborah Cash said.
Shortly thereafter, the San Luis Obispo County Farmers’ Market came on board and brought with it a
fresh produce section. Sometime after that, people started referring to the event as “farmers’ market” or simply “farmers,” and the name stuck.
“It was immediately popular,” said Peter Jankay, market administrator for the San Luis Obispo County Farmers’ Market Association. “It may not have generated 10,000 people each night at the start, but it became very attractive to tourists.”
Growing the Thursday night market would become an immensely beneficial undertaking for the city at a time when the downtown area was quieter. Stores closed early and many were not open on Sundays.
The growth of the downtown street fair enticed not only tourists but drew out county locals as well.
“The turnaround has been hugely beneficial for downtown and the community,” Cash said. “Look in any tourism guide that profiles SLO and typically you’ll see the Thursday night market showcased.”
Over the past two decades, the market has doubled in size, and engages regularly in many types of marketing and promotions to bring continued awareness as well as working to continue growing and staying fresh, according to Cash.
“We have had a couple makeovers during the past three decades and the market is truly a success story emulated by communities around the country and beyond,” Cash said.
Other California cities now strive to match the success of SLO’s farmers’ market.
Cities throughout California started sending people to visit the market and study how a small college and agricultural town has been able to create such a vibrant event, according to Jankay.
“It’s a model,” Jankay said. “It was getting so popular that the city of Santa Rosa brought a tour bus full of people to help them understand how the event has blossomed.”
In response to the growing curiosity from outside interests an instructional video was created in 1997 titled “How to Have a Farmers Market in Your Town.”
“While it looks easy to set up some tents and barbecues, in reality it’s a very intricate and amazingly complex event from set up to take down,” Cash said. “But, due to this well-run and tightly managed scenario, the event continues to attract delegations from other towns who want to host a like affair.”