Portland Saturday Market
Introduction
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Established in 1974, Portland's Saturday Market is the largest of its kind in the United States. Despite its name, it is open on both Saturdays and Sunday from March to December and draws around seven hundred thousand total visitors each year. The market developed from a grant from the Metropolitan Arts Council and the creation of a public benefit corporation where shareholders agreed to finance the market and work to maintain its operation and reputation by screening all artisans and vendors. The market grew quickly as residents valued the experience of the market and its ability to offer a convenient way of shopping from multiple artisans. Recognizing that Portland's Saturday Market brought business to the city's downtown merchants and restaurants each the weekend-a time period when many other downtown districts experience decreased traffic and sales, Portland's market become a model for many other cites.
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Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio