I’ve officially started my graduate school internship at Springstep and it’s out of the gate and running. I’m starting to really learn what it takes to market ideas and to reach out to the community. Throughout the summer I’ll only learn more.
Today I went to the first Medford Farmer’s Market of the Year. I showed up in a Springstep t-shirt with the flyers for my class (which you can see below) clutched in one hand, my business cards in one pocket, and Springstep’s cards in another, not sure what to expect. What I found was a gathering of delicious food and smiling people. Although at first I felt a little awkward attempting to market myself, I realized that all I needed to do was strike up a conversation, that every person in the booths was there selling their goods and so I fit right in.
There was a very sweet ceremony to cut the ribbon for which everyone who was there gathered around. The mayor was in front accompanied by a few children, one of whom helped him cut the ribbon. I introduced myself to Susan, the woman who seemed to be coordinating the whole event, after she spoke at the ceremony and told her that I was a storyteller and would be happy to tell a few if she was interested. She jumped on the idea and half an hour later I was in front of a mic, the sun had just come out, and it was time for stories.
I went through two of my favorite stories, which also happened to be fairly appropriate to the market: the Turnip and Stone Soup. By the end of Stone Soup there was a nice little crowd sitting in front of me, snacking on the goodies they’d bought and interacting with my stories. I passed out a few more flyers and met Susan Cattaneo, whose performance I had spontaneously ended up being the opening act for. After listening to a few of her songs I bought myself some homemade asiago cheese, two delicious pastry twists, and headed home.
Another day well spent. But how can it not be when there are stories, music, and food involved?
