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Past News of the Riverside Arts Market
The
Walking Treeman Entertained RAM Visitors on April 10th, 2010
 A real, live 16-foot-tall walking tree greeted
visitors to RAM on April 10. Created by showman/actor Todd Key of
Atlanta, this monumental botanical marvel strolled the market and
instilled a sense of awe in everyone who views it. Following a recent
appearance at the White House for President and Mrs. Obama, Treeman
towered above RAM and posed for pictures with our visitors.
Click
here to see the video.Nearly 30,000 attended RAM's 2010 Grand Re-Opening Day on March 6th! On Saturday, March 6th,
the Riverside Arts Market returned with a grand reopening celebration
that featured three live bands, a barbershop quartet, 18 street
performers, and over 160 vendors of diverse local art, food produce,
and nearly 30,000 excited visitors! The celebration began with Florida’s Shortest Big
Parade ever, led by the Raines High School
Marching Band and City Councilmen Michael Corrigan and Bill Bishop.
Market Director Tony Allegretti. “RAM had an amazing debut in 2009, garnering national media attention and attracting nearly half a million visitors. But our new year is off to fantastic start with sunch a huge crowd on our Grand ReOpening Day. This year promises to be bigger, bolder and even better in RAM’s patented “Under the Bridge, Over the Top” style.” RAM 2.0 started at 8 am with the River Walk2RAM, a healthy living initiative sponsored by Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute; after enjoying yoga and prizes at three area parks, participants walked to the parade staging area at the corner of Riverside Avenue and Post Street. The Raines High School Marching Vikings Band led the parade in a two-block march to RAM. The Market opened with an official ribbon cutting and serenade by the Shell Game barbershop quartet. For more coverage, photos, and video, click on this.  FRAM - The Farmer's Market at
RAMFRAM is now closed for the season and will return next winter after the close of RAM in December. However, the RAM Farmer's Market is now operating in full force with the re-opening of RAM on March 6th. 2010. Click
on links below to see archived FRAM
Newsletters:
_________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________ Huge Nighttime Party Celebrated the End of RAM's First Year on December 19th  At
the end of RAM on Dec. 19th, all of the artists' booths were cleared
out
and a giant nightime party was set
up on
the river-end of the market. The party saluted
our wonderful artists and vendors, our incredible
volunteers, our fabulous sponsors and government officials, and our
thousands of weekly vistors to the market.
Free wine and beer were provided by Bold City Brewery, North Florida Sales, and Riverside Liquors. Food was provided by RAM's food vendors. Entertainment included Juggler Bob ("The World's Strongest Juggler"), a movie highlighting RAM's first year, and live music by Greenhouse Lounge. Everyone remarked how beautiful the Riverside Arts Market looked at night. A nighttime monthly movie series is tentatively scheduled for the spring and summer at RAM.  The Urban League/Walgreens Wellness Tour spent the day at RAM on December 12th, delivering free health screenings and health education on its tour across the country. The customized bus provided screenings worth over $140 per person including: Total Cholesterol Levels, Blood Pressure, Bone Density, Glucose Levels, Waist Circumference,Body Mass Index.  FLU SHOTS AT RAM! Last fall, Winn-Dixie, one
of our major sponsors,
offered flu shots at RAM! We want all of our artists and
visitors to be happy and healthy!
 RAM's
Salute to Local Heroes Nov. 7thHigh-flying acrobats, balancing dogs, a dancing gorilla, clowns, vaudeville comedians, and jugglers, Oh My!! RAM blew it out the top on Saturday, Nov. 7th. And there was FIRE!! Fire juggling! Fired glass jewelry making demonstrations with real blow torches! An amazing 1926 antique hook and ladder fire truck! The very cool JFD Fire Boat did maneuvers in the river in front of the market, with its water cannons going full blast! And the city's biggest modern fire engine was there, for kids to climb aboard! All of this was to celebrate RAM's Salute to Local Heroes, and it included historical displays of antique fire equipment and memorabilia; story telling by senior firemen; and a photo display.  Halloween
at RAMJacksonville's Biggest Halloween Party
was at RAM on October 31st! Hundreds of RAM vendors, astists and
visitors showed up
wearing an amazing array of costumes. Click on the photo at right to
see
a slide
show by RAM photographer Kirk Chamberlain.
One of the highlight of the day was real live/dead Zombies dancing on stage to "Thriller"!   "Revenge of the Nords" Invasion of the Vikings Day On Saturday, October 17th, RAM had a 10th century replica
fjord boat on display to celebrate Viking Day at RAM.
Several members of the Sons of Norway were dressed as Vikings and
entertained visitors to the market.
Other Sons of Norway members were dressed in Bunads (native Norwegian dress) and greeted visitors to talk about Norwegian/Nordic culture and heritage and Sons of Norway membership. Loki, the lundehund mascot of the Sons of Norway, was quite an attraction. stopped at the
Riverside Arts Market on Saturday,
October 10.
12 esteemed local chefs cooked specialty dishes using the fresh produce from the RAM Farmers' Market. Click here for details! _________________________________________________ The Riverside Arts Market recently got favorable recognition in the national newspaper, USA Today. Click here to read the story. _________________________________________________ Dog Parade Celebrated National Dog Day at RAM on August 29th!   Well, slap my thigh and pass me a dog biscuit, you couldn't believe your eyes! Canines in costumes. In a dog parade at RAM, no less! Yessiree, they will be talking (and barking) about this one for a long time. Over 150 decorated dogs and their owners took part in the most bodacious canine event ever cooked up. Led by Parada Grand marshall Kirk Chamberlain and his famous dog Maddie, the Pooch Parade proceeded across the River Stage before an approving crowd of nearly 400 spectators. Celebrity judges Michael Corrigan, Charlie Patton, and Melody Bishop picked the winner of the costume competition. The winners? Hot dogs, of course, pictured at left. Click here for more details. B-Boy Battle Rocks the River Stage One of the most unusual events in RAM's history took place on the River Stage on August 1st.The B-Boy Battle Break-dance competition, sponsored by Scion as part of the "Summertime in the City" event, brought over two dozen whirling, twirling, gravity-defying dancers to entertain a huge crowd at the Riverside Arts Market. NATIONAL RECORDING ARTIST JUSTIN ROBERTS HIGHLIGHTS RAM’S CHILDREN’S CELEBRATION The Riverside Arts Market hosted one of the most popular children’s entertainers in the country on Saturday, July 25th. Over 600 children and adults filled the River Stage amphitheatre to capacity, clapping, dancing, and singing along to the music of Justin Roberts, who has been compared to everyone from Elvis Costello to Paul McCartney.   Starting at noon, Justin performed for over an hour, including songs from his latest CD Pop Fly. His clever and intelligent lyrics appealed to both the children and parents in the audience, and he had the entire crowd waving their arms and singing along with his catchy tunes. Justin’s colorful, creative videos can be seen everywhere from Saturday morning television to youtube.com. The concert was sponsored by Michael & Julie McKenny, Wayne & Gini Wood, the Riverside Arts Market, and the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront Hotel. Creative RAM Video Captures the Colors of the Market Riverside Arts
Market
from Michael Walter on Vimeo.  Street Performers Keep RAM Rolling!Dallas The Fire Guy, a.k.a. The Human Volcano was at RAM on Saturday, June 27th, for another spectacular show. His amazing performance thrilled audiences, and he even made the front page of the Florida Times-Union. Dallas is one of the dozens of street performers that help make RAM a visual feast and an ever-changing extravaganza. On July 18th, RAM was visited by Julianna Tucker, the 9-foot-tall Gypsy godess and Kerry Silson, "The World's Most Popular Juggler," both from Orlando (photos below). To see this weekend's exciting line up of free entertainment, click here. 
 WIFI now available throughout the Market! Thanks to those clever geniuses at Mac PC Tech-Pro, the Riverside Arts Market is now covered  with free wifi
wireless Internet every Saturday! This is a great help to
artists and vendors, who can now use their own online credit card
processing. Casual visitors will also enjoy the simple pleasure of
sitting by the river, listening to the great music on RAM's River Stage
while surfing the net and checking their email. Is this a great world,
or what! The
Easter Bunny delights crowd at RAMBeautiful weather drew huge crowds to the Riverside Arts Market's first eight weeks. Perhaps the most popular member of the crowd on April 11th was the Easter Bunny, who strolled the Market delighting children with his pre-Easter appearance. Giving out candy to the kids and posing for pictures, Mr. Bunny was one of the many highlights of the day. And the highlights were many, including an expanded Farmer's Market, many new visual artists, fire jugglers, magicians, an enlarged Food Court, and a line-up of musical talent on the River Stage that drew much applause. Market Director Tony Allegretti said that every week the Market will be new and different, with new artists, exciting free entertainment, and surprises that will "keep 'em coming back for more!" Folio Weekly called the Riverside Arts Market "the coolest thing ever!" More than 40,000 attend opening day April 4  An enthusiastic crowd
showed up under the Fuller Warren Bridge on
Saturday, April 4th for
the opening of the Riverside Arts Market -- a free outdoor marketplace
featuring local art, fresh
produce and live entertainment. The 40,000 visitors shattered all
attendance
projections. Designed to provide to provide local artists and farmers
with a viable marketplace in these difficult economic times, the
Riverside Arts Market included local painters, bakers, sculptors,
growers, potters, herb gardeners, wood carvers, jewelers, weavers and
more. Guests were entertained throughout the day by live bands,
face
painters, jugglers and other street performers. Many
artists sold out before noon.“In today’s challenging economy, it has never been more important for our community to come together and support one another,” said Doug Coleman, chairman of the RAM organizing committee. “We’re blown away by the attendance on opening day. Clearly, we’ve touched on something that is not only important to our local artists, but our community at large.” Laura Heckt, a photographer and one of more than 160 vendors who had a booth at the market, said “I am absolutely, fabulously excited!” “This is an exciting day for our city,” said Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton on opening day. “It is a great example of the type of public-private partnership that will have a lasting, positive impact on our city. The market provides a great venue to showcase our talented local artists and is another great downtown destination for citizens and visitors to enjoy.” The Riverside Arts Market was the brainchild of Dr. Wayne Wood, a Jacksonville resident and stalwart community volunteer. It was modeled after the Portland Saturday Market, which he visited 16 years ago. RAM IN THE NEWS - LOCALLY, NATIONALLY AND AROUND THE WORLD!   The Riverside Arts Market makes headlines across the nation
 Grand
Opening coverage in the Florida
Times-Union"The Coolest Thing Ever!" in folio weekly Grand Opening coverage in the Jacksonville Business Journal Opening Day coverage from CBS-47.com Front-page article in the Florida Times-Union Ron Littlepage op-ed in the Florida Times-Union Lead editorial in the Florida Times-Union Artists are excited! in the Florida Times-Union
Tony Allegretti is the Market Director of RAM  Read these 2007 interviews with Tony: Jacksonville Business Journal and EU Jacksonville Interview Over 160 Artists and Vendors Signed Up for RAM's First Four Weeks! The Riverside Arts Market has been FULL from the very first weekend. Newspaper, radio, and television have been been filled with stories and advertisements for the Market. Doug Coleman, chair of the RAM organizing committee was delighted that the Market was filled to capacity since opening day, with a waiting list to get in. If you want to be part of this exciting project as an artist or vendor, get your application submitted as soon as possible. Even if you missed the first few monhs, you will be on track to get into the Riverside Arts Market at the earliest possible opening. To submit an application, click here. After your application is submitted, it will be reviewed, and then you will be notified shortly. If you are accepted (highly likely!), you will then make a reservation for your booth space (a different form, which you'll receive after you are accepted.) Submit your application NOW. The earlier you apply, the better chances you have at getting a booth.  On-Line Workshop for ArtistsA special feature of the RAM website is an extensive workshop for artists, packed with tips and suggestions for anyone who wants to exhibit at the Market. Whether you just beginner and have never exhibited your work before, or if you are a veteran of the arts festival circuit, you will find helpful knowledge here to make your experience more enjoyable and more profitable. You'll learn everything from booth design to potty breaks from this artist-friendly crash course. Just click on the elf to go to the Workshop. Childrens' Creativity Corner!
One of the highlights of the Riverside Arts Market is the Children's Creativity Center. Established with a grant from Michael and Julie McKenny, this high-energy art learning center is housed under a huge tent near the center of the Market. Six local arts organizations take turns operating the CCC, offering an ever-changing array of art instruction and creativity for kids aged 6 to 15 every Saturday, 10:30 to 3:30. Admission is free.  The diverse offerings
will include:
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Riverside Arts Market
Riverside Avenue at Interstate-95 Jacksonville,
Florida
[ MAP]
Mailing Address: 2623 Herschel Street, Jacksonville, FL 32204
Phone: 904-554-6865
e-mail
us at
info@riversideartsmarket.com
About RAM | Artists & Vendor Info | Directions & Parking | Schedule of Events | Contact Us | About Us | News | Sponsors | Links | Community Service
FAQs | The Buzz | Volunteer | Who's Who | Booth of Week | RAM Photos | Past Artists of the Week | Press Kit | Future Events | RAM History
Artist's Directory | This Week's Lineup of Artists | Nearby Attractions
Riverside Arts Market
Riverside Avenue at Interstate-95 Jacksonville,
Florida
[ MAP]
Mailing Address: 2623 Herschel Street, Jacksonville, FL 32204
Phone: 904-554-6865
e-mail
us at
info@riversideartsmarket.com