by Steve Balkin
Steve Balkin <mar@interaccess.com> is a professor of economics at Roosevelt University in Chicago and is the founder of OPENAIR-MARKET NET. His interests are in micro-enterprise development, poverty alleviation, and marketplace preservation.
- provided through OPENAIR-MARKET NET
Thursday, February 8
Cool party at Mayor (of Philadelphia) Rendell's Reception room on Thursday evening. A lot of good conversation and very nice people. Three Mummers came and played some excellent corny music. The food favorites seemed to be the mini Italian sausages and the large marinated mushrooms.
Friday, February 9
Mayor Rendell opened the conference. He says he likes markets, has several new ones planned, and is very proud that his city was named the friendliest city in the U.S.. I tried some of the tests he mentioned and they worked. People in Philadelphia are indeed very helpful and friendly. Arthur Burns of the USDA Wholesale and Alternative Markets Program also spoke and was very informative. He was an important catalyst for this conference. Other speakers at this session were Fred Kent, President of Project for Public Spaces and Ellen Haas, Under Secretary for Food and Consumer Services, USDA (in charge of the Food Stamp program).
Great sessions during the day. I saw some interesting exhibits and met Gandhi's grandson, Arun. Steve Blake's photo display on the Arabber peddlers of Baltimore really caught my eye. I learned a lot about markets in Africa from Professor Dzidzienyo of Howard University and enjoyed hearing about the growing Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market in New York City from Tariq Shahid, who runs it. At lunch, I attended a "brownbag session" on Markets and the Internet. I didn't have a chance to get food so I got some french-fry donations from a few of the participants. About eight of us exchanged e-mail addresses to form a core e-mail discussion group about markets. You are welcome to join too!
Great benefit feast in the evening at Down Home Dinner put on by the American Farmland Trust. Their bumper sticker reads: No Farms; No Food. A jazz/country swing trio played some very lively music. The food was all American but I ate some new things: a salad with some weird looking greens and a main dish of a giant grilled mushroom.
Saturday, February 10
Market tours in the morning. I finally got to visit the famous Italian Market. It is the most beautiful market I had ever seen. It is a real time warp -- like being back at the turn of the century. The people's faces were classical, the fire barrels were warm and inviting, the old buildings with their gritty worn awnings were charming. The old tattered awnings really gave the place character and a sense of a community full of life. I hope they leave them or just fix them rather than replace them. I think the people of Philadelphia don't realize what a jewel they have here. It reminded me of the old Maxwell Street Market in Chicago in its prime.
Interesting sessions in the afternoon at the convention center. I learned a lot about markets in Europe from Sebastian Bensidown who runs several private markets in France, Ghislaine de Golbery who is head of Paris's Bureau of Public Markets, and especially from Christina Nordin, a French geographer/scholar, who presented a large amount of data.
There was lots of schmoozing between sessions.
People slowly trickled in to our panel session on the Maxwell Street Market. I enjoyed showing slides and talking about dear old Maxwell Street. Joel Malkin was a fine moderator and Ted Spitzer gave an interesting paper with some useful data. There was some disagreement as to whether the Maxwell Street Market was destroyed or just relocated in another form. We all seemed to agree that it should have remained in its old location.
We went to a benefit valentine party in the evening at the Reading Terminal Market. The locals were dressed real fancy in black tie outfits. People from our conference were, however, less formal. There must have been over six different dance bands playing in various parts of the market. I stayed late for the Kurt Weil inspired cabaret show and saw a 10 foot giant "wind-up" female impersonator.
Sunday, February 11
The conference committee spoke (Hilary Baum, Vance Corum, Fred Kent, Bob Lewis, Duane Perry, Nancy Duncan Porter, Pam Ropy and Aaron Zaretsky) and everyone gave big applause to David O'Neil for being such an excellent organizer and host. The big highlight for me was hearing Jeff Smith, the Frugal Gourmet (and a Methodist minister). He spoke about markets with references from the bible and classical literature. He made profound comments about the importance of markets as celebrations and feast situations -- that when we shop at faceless stores and put things in refrigerators we are hoarding material things but losing community.
I stayed over on Sunday to visit the Italian Market once more. In the evening, I got to meet Mother Divine (a prominent local religious figure) at my hotel, the Divine Tracy, and heard a serenade by the Divine Peace Mission's Rosebuds.
Return to the Reports page of the 3rd International Public Market Conference