Courtesy photo.
VENTURA — Ventura College Foundation’s Weekend Marketplace, which temporarily moved to the West Parking Lot on the Ventura College campus while solar panels were installed at its home on the East Parking Lot, will return to its permanent location on February 20 and 21. The Marketplace will be closed February 13 and 14 to relocate its office, storage unit and equipment back to the East Parking Lot.
The East Parking Lot is able to accommodate more vendors and guests than the smaller West Parking Lot location. Prior to the COVID pandemic, the Marketplace drew about 2,000 shoppers each weekend with 300 to 400 vendors. However, because of current COVID pandemic restrictions, the attendance is capped at 25% of capacity, and the number of Marketplace vendors has been limited.
“We want to thank all our vendors, patrons and neighbors to the Marketplace who have been supportive as we first closed, reopened, then moved and are now moving back,” says Anne Paul King, the foundation’s executive director. “It’s been a rollercoaster.”
For more than three decades, the community has relied on the Marketplace for affordable fresh produce and other items. Vendors’ families have been supported by weekend sales. Our foundation has relied on the vendor rental revenue to support Ventura College students. “When the Marketplace temporarily closed because of COVID, many people in Ventura County lost an important resource,” says King. “That’s why, despite all the ups and downs, it was important that we did all we could to keep the Marketplace open.”
COVID Marketplace hours are 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. COVID safety and spacing protocol remains in place for both vendors and visitors. All vendors and visitors must wear face coverings and practice proper social distancing.
Admission is free. For vendor information, contact Esmeralda Juarez, marketplace supervisor at 805-289-6062 or email, ejuarez@vcccd.edu. For general Marketplace information, go to www.venturacollegefoundation.org/weekend-marketplace
Established in 1983, the Ventura College Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and operates financially independent from Ventura College. It transforms students’ lives through education by providing innovative and vital resources and financial support. The Foundation collaborates with Ventura College to enhance human potential, civic engagement, careers and academic success of students enabling their effective impact and legacy on the college, local workforce, and our community. The Foundation also hosts the Ventura College Foundation Marketplace; an outdoor shopping experience held every weekend on the Ventura College campus. For more information, contact Julie Harvey at (805) 289-6502 or jharvey@vcccd.edu or visit www.VenturaCollegeFoundation.org