After Two Years of Instability, Portland Saturday Market Will Reopen On Time in March

Thanks to a GoFundMe campaign and private donations, the local attraction made it through the pandemic shutdowns and historic wildfires.

Portland Saturday Market, Ankeny Plaza section Portland Saturday Market, looking east on Ankeny Plaza, 2012. (Steve Morgan via Wikimedia Commons)

Last spring, Portland Saturday Market was asking for the public’s help to stay afloat following a year of hardship due to pandemic restrictions and wildfire smoke that made doing business outside impossible.

However, this season, it’d be hard to tell that the local institution had struggled at all. The attraction just announced that it is set to open for its 49th year—on time—with a slate of more than 150 vendors.

Saturday Market will begin operations at 10 am Saturday, March 5 at 2 SW Naito Parkway, just south of the Burnside Bridge. It’s scheduled to be held every Saturday thereafter through Dec. 24. You can expect a lineup of booths run by local artisans selling crafts—members are jury selected and required to hand make the items themselves—along with an international food court.

The nonprofit, which is the country’s largest continuously outdoor shopping emporium, delayed its launch last year. Before the mid-April reopening, organizers launched their first-ever GoFundMe campaign for the market in the hope of raising $150,000, allowing them to cover fixed monthly expenses, including rent, insurance and utilities for the 2021 run.

“Saturday Market is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city of Portland, drawing up to 1 million people and, in a normal year, annual sales of $12 million,” executive director Howie Bierbaum said at the time. “Something with this much heart and personality, that’s also an economic driver for our city and key to its revival, deserves to thrive.”

In March 2020, just as vendors were kicking off the season, the market was forced to shut down due to COVID-19. Shopping resumed in June once Multnomah County moved into Phase 1 of Gov. Kate Brown’s reopening plan, however, there were fewer booths to keep people safely spaced apart.

The market suffered significant losses once again in September when smoke from the state’s historic wildfires triggered another round of closures. The combined hits caused overall operations to plummet by more than 75 percent from a typical year.

According to the market’s GoFundMe page, it exceeded its fundraising goal thanks to a combination of money donated through that platform as well as private, anonymous gifts.

Those returning to browse the aisles this weekend have further incentive to spend: Anyone who purchases at least $25 worth of merchandise receives a free TriMet ticket or two hours of free parking at the Smart Park Garage on Northwest Davis Street at Naito Parkway.

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