People looking for shopping, food, music, and dancing can meet at the Moab Valley Multicultural Center (MVMCC) on Saturdays from 5 to 8 p.m. for the center’s weekly market.
The market, which is coordinated by volunteer market director Solange Roussin, offers Moab a venue for selling hand-made, re-sale, and even second-hand quality items.
“We want this to be a social, local event,” Roussin said. “It is something we would like to have for locals, so they have a legal place where they can sell their vegetables, or goods, or whatever it is.”
Visitors to the market can expect to meet vendors selling baskets, hats, jewelry, collectibles, soap, clothes, lotion, and vegetables. Also offered occasionally is on-site Thai massage.
Last year, the market took place on Saturday mornings, but the MVMCC has decided to move the market to the evenings so people can enjoy both the market and the MVMCC’s weekly salsa dancing night. Roussin estimated the market would host between three and four vendors for the first market, but the number should grow with the attendance of people to the salsa dancing.
Food will also be available at the event. The food, which is generally Mexican, is hand-made at the MVMCC and in the past has included items such as tamales and tostadas. Plates are $6. The center also has a dining area set up with tables, chairs, and shade.
Vendors at the market do not pay a fee to participate, but instead they contribute 15 percent or $10, whichever is less, of their sales after the market has closed. The fees from collected from the market help pay for costs associated with the market. Roussin said anyone is welcome to come and be a vendor at the market.
“I want to have more people,” she said. “I want it to be very alive.”
Visitors to the market will also be able to attend the MVMCC’s Salsa dancing night at the same time. The Open Air Sunset Salsa runs from 5 to 7:30 p.m. and is free, but donations are appreciated. The night will include salsa, bachata, merengue, cha cha, and Cumbia music for dancing.
The MVMCC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting intercultural understanding and appreciation, and broadening opportunities for immigrants, indigenous groups, and other minorities through education, family support, and community collaboration. MVMCC director Rhiana Medina said the Multicultural Market is a good way to bring people down the center and to help support the mission of the center.
“The Multicultural Center is blessed to have such a spacious lot in a central, close-to-downtown location,” she said. “By increasing the amount of community events, such as hosting the Multicultural Market, the Multicultural Center hopes to bring more awareness to the center and its very important programs and services.”
For more information on the market or becoming a vendor, contact Roussin at 435-259-1601. Information about the salsa dancing is available by calling the MVMCC at 435-259-5444. The Multicultural Market and salsa dancing both begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday evenings at the MVMCC, located at 156 N. 100 West.
What: Multicultural Market and Open Air Sunset Salsa Social
Where: Moab Valley Multicultural Center, 156 N. 100 West.
When: Saturdays from 5 to 8 p.m., dancing from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Cost: Free
“We want this to be a social, local event. It is something we would like to have for locals, so they have a legal place where they can sell their vegetables, or goods, or whatever it is.”
Multicultural center hosts market and salsa-dancing on Saturday evenings
