When the Farmers Market first opened at Third and Fairfax in 1934, local vendors casually sold their produce from vehicles parked on an empty plot of land, and built permanent stalls a few weeks later due to the effort's immediate success with locals. Seventy-five years later, marketing manager Ilysha Adelstein Buss required a lot more advance planning for the market’s official birthday ceremony, which she began preparing more than a year in advance, with Greg Jenkins of Bravo Productions.
“The biggest question was when to hold it,” said Buss, who oversaw Thursday’s birthday ceremony, as well as a weeklong series of celebratory events, such as tastings and concerts. “We knew we wanted to involve the merchants, but the market is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and many merchants have an early start, so the evening was out of the question.” In order to minimize disruptions to business, Buss opted for an atypical 8 a.m. birthday party, which took place in a sectioned-off portion of the parking lot in front of the market’s iconic clock tower.
The early morning start time still presented its own logistical concerns. Buss had to limit the ceremony to an hour so as to prevent any prolonged disruption to the normally busy lot, and coordinate alternate delivery points for merchants. The rising sun also posed a challenge for Jenkins, who set up an LED screen alongside a small stage to broadcast the morning’s proceedings. “We had to use calculus to make sure the sun wouldn’t hit the screen as it went up and up,” Jenkins said. “We literally used equations, and had to periodically check where the sun was at different points in the day.”
Other moves, such as capitalizing on the birthday as a branding opportunity for the market, were no-brainers. “We wanted to reinforce the value of the market and to tell a story about how unique and special it is,” said Jenkins, who decorated the stage with the market’s trademark green shopping carts, stuffed with fresh produce. A giant "cake" in the shape of the clock tower also trumpeted the Farmers Market brand. Buss and Jenkins opted for a faux cake, knowing that a real one would begin to lean under the weight of an edible tower, and instead treated guests to cupcakes.
Of course, the birthday festivies were not complete without a card, which arrived in the form of volunteers flipping oversize cards to spell out celebratory messages. Again, the market’s hours posed a challenge in that volunteers could not practice the card flip until the morning of the event—rehearsals were still taking place 15 minutes before the ceremony began. The event closed with a rendition of “Happy Birthday” by the University of Southern California marching band. Immediately following the last note, planners dismantled the stage, bleachers, and awnings, so that things could go back to business as usual.
