Bazaar is back on familiar terrain this weekend

This Saturday, a trip to downtown Spokane may look a little different. Bazaar, the art fair hosted by the non-profit arts collective Terrain, will line Main Avenue on Aug. 7 with more than 70 vendors selling thousands of handmade goods. It will happen from 11 am to 9 pm.

Lily Booth Embroidery, one of the many vendors, will sell hand-embroidered necklaces and wall-art inspired by the Pacific Northwest. Tater-n-Tot Jewelry will make the journey over from Ellensburg to sell their whimsical earring, bracelets,and necklaces. Scrap-metal welded art will be sold at the Twisted Booze booth and illuminated lake shadow boxes will be sold by Lakeside Illumination.

Bazaar will also feature a full musical lineup, capped off by a performance from local country artist Jenny Anne Mannan at 7 pm. Bazaar will also have family-friendly activities in the atrium of River Park Square, provided in partnership with the mall and the Botanical Alchemists. Food trucks will be scattered across Main, and there will also be a beer garden hosted by Flatstick Pub.

This will be the first Bazaar since the pandemic,  and Terrain Executive Director Ginger Ewing says the event is vital for local artists.

“As we all know by now, artists were devastated by the pandemic, so we would love for the Spokane community to show them some big love by showing up and purchasing items from them as they are an incredibly important part of our economy — they need supporting now more than ever," Ewing says.

Bazaar has to deal with state covid-19 protocols to make sure people stay as safe as is reasonably possible. That means each booth will be a little bit farther away from the next than you might be used to, and there will only be around 75 vendors this year, compared to 97 in 2019. But regardless of factors like state and regional public health requirements, Terrain’s goal for the event, boldly stated on their website, remains the same: “To ensure artists, makers, and cultural creators thrive in the Inland Northwest.”