Community Clicks
Lisa Bridge, Director of Sequims Open Aire Market
Farming is something Lisa Bridge is passionate about. She moved to the North Olympic Peninsula to establish a farm with her husband, Joe. Their farm, Rainbow Farm, supplies local residents with blackberries, marionberries, eggs and small amounts of produce at a low-key farm stand. Bridge recently became the director of the Sequim Open Aire Market and looks forward to helping the market grow.
BRENDA HANRAHAN | STW: What attracted you to apply to become the director of the Sequim Open Aire Market?
LISA BRIDGE | LB: I love the market’s community-oriented atmosphere and the creativity that the market encourages.
There is a real spirit of family and community at the Sequim Open Aire Market.
Farmers’ markets are the heart and soul of a community. They supply a place for people to gather in the community.
I wanted to be a part of the market, and wanted the challenge of helping the market grow and change to meet the needs of the community.
STW: What are some of your goals for the market?
LB: The director works very closely with the market’s board of directors. I am leading, but they are driving.
We are considering becoming a nonprofit organization, which would change the focus of the market.
I hope to get youth in the community even more involved in the market.
Ideas for this include having children who participate in 4-H show their animals in our community booths.
We also plan to offer a discount to youth who are interested in becoming vendors.
Last season, there was an 11-year-old girl who sold homemade dog biscuits at the market.
I would love to have more young entrepreneurs involved.
I would also love to see the produce and other food-based vendor offerings expand.
The Open Aire Market has always had the reputation of being a great arts-and-crafts market, which is wonderful for attracting tourists.
Produce used to total about 16 percent of total market sales, but that number increased to more than 30 percent last season when you add in farmstand cheeses, fish and baked goods.
I would like to see this percentage grow even more.
My dream is to have locals come to the market each week to shop for food staples —
produce, meat, fish, cheese, baked goods and herbs and spices.
The market has about 90 active vendors, and 50 to 60 vendors who participate weekly
during the market season.
I hope that number continues to increase so we can offer the public something that they need and want each week during the market season.
One of the new vendors for the 2010 season will be Clark Farm Beef — locally raised beef from the Clark family farm.
We will also continue to supply great live musical entertainment each week.
We are working to offer local musicians a chance to perform for free in an area away from the main market stage.
STW: How did you become involved in farming?
LB: I farmed after college and worked on an agricultural project with the Peace Corps in Guatemala.
My husband, Joe, and I moved to Portland to become involved in urban farming, but soon realized we missed the quiet rural life.
Joe grew up in Sequim, so moving to Sequim was a logical choice. When we moved to the area, we asked other farmers what was missing in the farming community.
Our farm, Rainbow Farm, grows mostly berries — blackberries and marionberries.
We also offer eggs and some produce out of our roadside produce stand, which operates on a self-serve honor system.
STW: What do you do in your spare time?
LB: I like to be busy, so I always have a few projects in the works.
Rainbow Farm is a priority, so tending to the fields, caring for the chickens and everything else that goes along with farming takes a majority of my time.
Joe and I are both massage therapists. He is a little more active than I am right now with our business, Vital Ground.
Joe and I are also musicians. I play in a band called Superfriends.
Right now I am trying to simplify my life a little, which is not easy for me.
Focusing on the farm, the market and my family is a priority.
We have a 10-month-old daughter named Olive, so all of my spare time is spent watching her discover new things.
We are very lucky to have two grandmothers who love to be involved in her life.
We share a home with my brother and his partner, so we have a little village on Towne Road.
I feel very lucky that Olive is so surrounded by so many people who love her.
