What do you do when you wake up on a Sunday morning with an extreme urge to get your hands on a game program from the Vancouver Grizzlies' first season? Or a copy of Jerry Maguire on DVD? Or a flip phone from 2004?
You head down to Hastings and Carrall and check out the Downtown Eastside Street Market.
The market is put on by the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Council, founded years ago as a way to consolidate the popular practice of street vending on Hastings Street for the benefit of both vendors and the Vancouver Police Department, who were growing tired of reminding vendors that practice of hawking their wares on street sidewalks is against city bylaws.
A crew of DNC employees and volunteers swoop in every Sunday to close off Carrall between Hastings and Cordova, right next to Pigeon Park, and offer 100s of Downtown Eastside residents a sanctioned place to make some money. The VPD won't bother them at the market, unless of course they're trying to sell stolen wares.
The majority of merchants are binners, those that dig through dumpsters and home alleyways to find abandoned treasures. Some will fan out as far as Kitsilano during the week to bring back merchandise.
It means that the market is full of unique items you wouldn't find anywhere else in Vancouver. Most of it is a time capsule of eras bygone. This is one of the few places in the city to find cassettes, or VHS, or any other electronic generation you thought you would never see again. It's also an exercise in low-level free-market economy. Aspiring entrepreneurs take to selling peanut butter and jam sandwiches made to order, ice cream sandwiches from a plastic bag, or one man last Sunday who was offering a dozen varieties of cat food. The idea is simple: bring whatever you have to offer, claim your space, and go for it. You can also try your luck with the 50/50 draw put on by market organizers, with a take-away that's usually around $50 - $80.
Organizers recently got their hands on the vacant parking lot at 62 E Hastings with an eye towards a more permanent market. It'll allow them to set up structures, such as refurbished shipping containers, without having to worry about tearing them down at the end of the every market day. They've already starting experimenting with a market on Tuesdays.
The past six months have also seen partnerships with organizations such as Hastings Crossing and Hootsuite to help the market grow into something a little bit more stable, so even after years of operation it seems like the project is just scratching the surface of its potential. The DNC estimates that the $30,000 yearly investment in the market brings back $500,000 to DTES residents. Just the other day, the society elected Lorna Bird and Glenn Fisher president and vice-president, as well as assigning a few other positions, as the market stands poised to evolve into something even bigger and better.
Why is everything about this idea so great? It's a win for everyone involved. A group of people took the problem of illegal street vending and turned into a highly organized market that not only alleviates the concerns of VPD, but also helps vendors make more money. It's empowering, and one of those synergy solutions that Vancouver loves. Let's not forget either that all these binners are running a low-level recycling project, aiding us to become a 'green city'. It's the ethos of this blog project; an idea and some hard work can turn an adverse situation into something inspiring.
If you're ever out around Gastown for Sunday brunch, take a moment to check the market out. It'll put a smile on your face, and maybe some trinkets in your pocket.
