It was a challenging task from the get-go; a midseason Farmers Market startup. But it was a task Joshua Scott was up for. Until he wasn’t. The brainchild behind Cornelia’s proposed Friday night Farmers Market found out the hard way just how tough launching an event is.
In a letter sent to the City of Cornelia and community dated June 10 – the day the market was to open – Scott expresses his apologies that the market didn’t materialize. He says he was striving to bring a fun filled new tradition to the city but, “Unfortunately, in hind site (sic), I may have prematurely announced this event with insufficient time to make sure the licensing and necessary permits would be in place.”
Cornelia’s Community Development Manager Jessie Owensby says the licensing problems stem from the fact that the Cornelia Farmers Market is new and has not yet obtained nonprofit status. As a result, “each vendor needs to have their own licensing and vendor insurance in order to sell food. If not, they face being shut down by the health department and face fines from them as well.”
There were only two vendors with proper licensing so the city scrambled to replace Friday’s planned event with another.
Though notice of the cancellation came late the city managed to roll with it, turning what would have been Farmers Market night into Family Date Night.
READ: Cornelia Farmers Market becomes Family Date Night
“This event was solely postponed due to my lack of education on the types of licensing it would take to get vendors involved as well as vendor commitment levels due to the midseason start up,” Scott writes. He says he hopes to reintroduce the idea for a Cornelia Farmers Market in the future “when we can present you with a quality product and some amazing food!”
