The twice-annual Spring Ferrell Supply Market returns to Lucama on Saturday for a day filled with shopping and socializing.
Jenny Bailey will host the event with sisters Jill Ferrell Robertson and Gretchen Jenkins at her grandparents' home at 5337 Scott Church Road in Lucama.
“It’s really exciting because we have people from all over North Carolina,” Bailey said. “It's going to get better. It's what you call organic farming. The community really enjoyed it. We had fun hosting it. It's just a place for everyone to come together.”
This spring market is the family's seventh annual and features more than 50 small businesses from across North Carolina and Virginia. Bailey said vendors will feature boutique clothing, home decor, artist candles, dog bandanas, handmade leather bags, children's clothing, soaps, jewelry, artisan chocolates, locally raised meats and vintage finds. They plan to offer handmade wooden crafts and other items.
Admission is $5 for adults. Children 17 and under are admitted free. Everyone who enters will be given a wristband upon entry which he can use throughout the day. Bailey said Item 9 Pizza, Taste of Texas and 2nd Street Coffee will have food trucks outside the event. She said the best new addition is a recently constructed concrete outdoor pavilion, perfect for sitting in the shade, listening to music and eating.
“We’ve made a lot of connections with people that we never would have made if we hadn’t started this,” Bailey said. “It's really fun.” There's a vendor from Wake Forest who grew up in a tiny little community in Ohio. “Even though it's not close to here, she loves the market because it reminds her of home and the community she grew up in. It’s so remote that it’s nice to disconnect a bit and see the countryside.”
Mr Bailey said all efforts needed to be made to hold the spring market.
“It definitely takes a village,” Bailey said. “We have a lot of support from family and family friends. This is the seventh market we have hosted this spring. We've got a rhythm. As we grow, we have to bring in more people. Our uncles and aunts come to help, family friends we grew up with come and go to college. Friends and roommates from the era come and everyone comes and works with us all day. Everybody has a role.”
Bailey said she and her sisters are raising the next generation to one day take over the market.
“I have three children. My sister has three children,” Bailey said. “Our friends' kids love it as much as we do. It's so fun to see the kids so engaged. That's where our market is different. It has a bit more of a family atmosphere, and the kids enjoy checking out the vendors and getting what they need.”
Ferrell Supply Market is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
christopher long I'm a business reporter for the Wilson Times. If you have ideas for this weekly column, contact him at 252-265-7821 or clong@wilsontimes.com.
