Saturday market becomes Anchorage Market & Festival.

• Author: Pilkington, Steve
• Position: Retail - Brief Article

Anchorage Parking Authority board members voted recently to allow Anchorage Market & Festival to add a Sunday market to its summer downtown schedule for the entire 18-week summer market season, from mid-May through mid-September.

The decision was made after reviewing the results of a successful six-week Sunday Market trial last August and September. Both vendors and market-goers say the trial was an overwhelming success. In addition, an economic impact study concluded that the 18 Saturday and six Sunday markets generated some $21.1 million in spending in 2004. Of this amount, market-goers spent more than $9.3 million at downtown businesses not associated with the market. Anchorage Parking Authority commissioned the study that was conducted by Northern Economics Inc.

Anchorage Parking Authority started the Saturday Market in 1992 on the...