Dance Studio of Maine youth perform at Marketplace in 2015. File photo
Gorham Business Exchange’s popular Marketplace has been canceled for the third consecutive year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision came after members of the nonprofit organization were polled, said Ethan Johnson, president of the board of directors.
“COVID has changed it all,” Johnson said.
Marketplace, usually held annually in March at the University of Southern Maine fieldhouse, showcases Gorham businesses’ products and services along with local civic and youth groups and includes vendor booths, entertainment, demonstrations, activities for children, a food court and, sometimes, even live animals such as dogs and sheep.
In the past, the one-day fundraising event has drawn an average of 2,000 people.
“Everyone had a smile, kids had a blast,” Johnson said.
Johnson recalled one year when the event was held on April Fools Day and the area was hit with a foot of snow. Still, 1,000 people showed up, he said.
“I was really hoping to have it this year,” he said.
The logistics involved in holding Marketplace this year made it too difficult, he said. USM’s pandemic protocols would have to be followed, requiring more volunteers to check vaccination cards at the doors, for example. It also would have been hard with the current labor shortage for some businesses to set up and staff booths at the event.
“I am so disappointed Marketplace couldn’t be held this year,” said Town Councilor Virginia Wilder Cross, who founded the event in the mid-1990s. “I certainly hope the Gorham Business Exchange will be able to bring it back next year.”
The cancellation of the event in 2020, 2021 and now this year leave Marketplace’s future looking a little iffy, but Johnson said it can be resurrected.
“If the business community wants it back, we’re going to be behind it,” Johnson said.
As many businesses struggled during the pandemic, the exchange last June discontinued membership fees and eliminated its paid executive director position. The former executive director, Suzanne Phillips, who continues to serve on the board and is a town councilor, said the group is planning some outdoor spring and summer fundraisers.
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