World Village Market

Our Aim

To build a street event that draws together a number of vital elements providing colour and character, blending the exotic with the sustainable, putting eco-friendly awareness before mass production and original creative thinking alongside the traditional.
To create an original themed market with a selection of stalls that are selling products of excellent quality and unquestionable authenticity.  To form our World Market, we actively seek out that which is ‘unusual’ and often, undervalued.

What’s in a Name?

After much time deliberating over a name for this themed market we finally decided on World Village Market for the following reasons:
Unique to the UK
It could really only be created in Britain – it is a truly British product. We feel that Britain provides the most complete meeting place in the world;  the old world and the new world, the developing world and the most highly developed all come together in the UK.  No other country in Europe has such a history of empire and emigration and immigration –our major cities are microcosms of the world.

Britain now has one of the world’s richest food cultures with dishes from India, Thailand, the Caribbean, South America as well as Europe providing ingredients to our nation’s staple diet. Our event, features many of these dishes (and the cultures behind them) bringing them to market squares and streets throughout the UK.

One World Working Together?

A celebration of the street trading tradition that is common to all countries throughout the world.  Street trading is still a way of life in many countries to the East and is now perhaps seeing a resurgence in the Western World.

The Time is Right to take to the Streets once Again

Where once, markets were a traditional route to the top for many a budding entrepreneur and now with the price of High Street rents and the lack of lending for business start up capitol, we are seeing that cycle beginning again.  Markets are quite simply a great way to test your products in the ‘market’ and on that basis decide on ways forward.
Annie Antor, Market Square Group’s operations manager is very positive about the prospects of the street festival “we continue to see a demand for original products of good quality  – a great many people care about where their food comes from and the ingredients that are used.  Similarly, original, handmade and or ethically traded arts, crafts, clothing and jewellery are holding their own in these challenging economic times precisely because people are being more careful about how they spend their money – they are looking for original products that offer not only value, but more importantly validity.”

I. The Definition of Theme

We are looking to create a World Market Village with products that are unique to particular regions of the world and products that are cultural identifiers. From our database thus far collated, we would expect to see the following countries represented.

• Europe - including France, Spain, Italy, Russia, Germany, Portugal, Transylvania, Greece, Portugal and a Best of British Section (which will include products local to our host town/city/county)
• Developing World – Including Thailand, Indonesia, India and China,
• South America – Including Ecuador and Peru
• Scandinavia – Including Finland, Sweden and Norway
• Africa – Including South Africa and Zimbabwe
• The New World – Including United States, Canada and Australia

We would love to add new countries and 'undiscovered' products to our list.

N.B. Preference will in all cases be given to ethically traded, natural, traceable and authentic goods.  Please submit your booking with a full description of your products - photos may be requested in support.

The World Goods and Food Market featuring a great range of ‘exotic’ foods, drink, crafts, clothing, jewellery, home furnishings and accessories.  For example the taste buds of hungry visitors will be tickled with ready to eat Caribbean jerk pork and chicken together served with spiced rice and dumplings.  Alternatively, you could try freshly cooked Paella from Spain or traditional South American cooking from Peru.

II. Attracting the ‘Right’ Stalls (authentic rather than pseudo).

• Target specific stalls that we have identified as being of particular value to the event.
• Consider applications carefully and request photographic evidence to support applications where necessary.
• Take a proactive approach and look for products and personalities that will bring a positive aspect to the market and contribute to the common good of our events.
• Market the event to our database of businesses and create interest from other stall holders through a number of effective marketing strategies.

To add to the festival atmosphere – there will be live music and craft demonstrations including chain saw wood carving as well as energy saving initiatives presented by ........Council. Stalls will include crafts from Africa, India, South America, Thailand and Hungary with food ranging from locally produced cheese, free range meats, organic breads and olives together with both vegetarian and meat based takeaway foods.

III. A Sustainable Event

We will actively promote the local economy in the following ways:
• Offer discounts to local businesses that want to join the World Village
• Guide our caterers to buying local fresh produce for their dishes
• Guide our traders to renting accommodation in the area local to the event
• Feature local businesses, recipes and traditions on our website
• Where possible, engage the services of local businesses in the provision of the following services such as power, waste management, and security.

IV. Eco-Friendly/Traceable Foods/Recycled Materials and Ethical Trade

Market Square Group has made a commitment to promoting all of the above throughout its events diary since 2006.  The towns and cities that host our World Village Market will benefit from the progress that we have already made in establishing an environmental and world concern ethos within our events.  Good PR and good for the environment.

We attract a good many traders that other operators do not have on their books, but we will demonstrate a commitment in the following ways:
• Low carbon  - we will partly power the World Market with solar power
• A strong line up of ethically traded products will be on the market
• Fair Trade produce will be given preference over non-fair trade
• Plastic bag free
• Low energy lighting
• Traditional Craft Demonstrations

V. Presentation of the stalls – ‘how the market will look’.

• We are not looking for a uniform approach in respect of the stalls, but we will be insisting on a standard of presentation.
• Mini-Marquees or Gazebos will be the expected standard for all stalls, although we will consider other stall types provided that they are integral to product and or culture/country of origin.
• Those traders who cannot meet the required standard of stall, but who we feel have a product that will contribute positively to the event, will be offered our own mini-marquees at a discounted rental price.
200M minimum space required – you can expect to see any combination of the following:
• Gazebo styles
• Huts
• Tents
• Round/Square/Marquee
 

Flags and Personal Presentation

Stalls will be expected to fly flags indicating their country of origin and where appropriate, traditional costume dress will be requested.  In all cases, stall holders will be expected to present themselves in a clean and tidy manner.

Entertainment  - “All the World’s a Stage”

And we aim to put the best of world products onto it.....
Morris dancers – Chainsaw Wood Carving – Jewellery Workshops – Buskers and Jazz Bands – Prince Godson Ogwudire and his Nigerian Drummer Quartet – Circus Skills Workshops and more.......

Delivery of the Project

Planning Time Line/Event Schedule
We will develop a schedule for the delivery of our services in the build up to each event. This will include specific dates for updating the project officer(s) within whom we are working at each venue.

The event schedule will include all details relevant to each venue.

To Conclude

Market Square Group considers events on their individual merits rather than hearsay or speculation.  We apply individual solutions to each challenge that we undertake and believe in engaging fully with the community in whose midst the event is being staged and the partners with whom we are working.

As any of our referees will testify, we actively encourage the participation of local businesses as part of our own business ethos. We are equally at home when working at local, regional and International levels.

Our practice of seeking out the best of ethical products and business practice over the last three years has provided us with a unique database.  Our selection of World Goods and Food will provide value and validity in terms of traceability, sustainability, nutritional content and quality of craftsmanship.

• We will go the extra mile to provide the authentic, the spectacular and the educational as well as some highly original retail therapy.
• We will continue to contact foreign Embassies and encourage them to take part in our events
• We will source and pay for entertainment, demonstration arenas and workshops to add value to the event.

“It’s great to have a themed event coming to our town that offers the chance for local businesses to take part. The World Village Market has a universal theme and a truly international line up and we encourage local businesses to join this unique retail event which is sure to draw large visitor numbers”.