Trade Day

Trade Day

our local gathering & market

Pine Mountain Trade Day brought the community together to buy, sell, trade, and give goods from our local growers and makers.

Trade Day began the first Thursday in June 2022 and was held, rain or shine, on every other Thursday evening through the summer into mid-September. We also held special Trade Days during Bluegrass Jamboree.

Entry and parking were free. Shoppers were asked to bring baskets or bags for purchases.

trade day photo albums

Get a taste for Trade Day – or relive these delightful gatherings – through our photo albums!

trade day history

Trade Day began in June 2022 and thrived at biweekly events through the fall. This all-volunteer effort combined the efforts of many contributors, especially Raetta, Katherine, Becky, Sandra, Heather, Jessica, Patty, and Janie, who supported Trade Day from the beginning and were quick to jump in to help amid the event's rapid growth.

Additionally, Jolie handcrafted a donation box for Trade Day and other gatherings. Jessica, Bobbie, and Brenda donated fruit. Dave & Becca and Anna coordinated a Trade Day raffle with goods donated by vendors and volunteers, raising $80 for PMCC.

Discussions to continue Trade Day ended when PMCC "postponed" the September 2022 meeting, at which Community Center facility use was to be discussed. A new meeting date was never offered. Instead the Board overhauled the organization's governing documents to exclude most of the "community" (as it had been defined for 50 years), made the meetings private rather than open, and does not post minutes or news or even board election results.

For a magical summer of 2022, we experienced what is possible when a community comes together. Several times a month, the Community Center was packed with neighbors exchanging produce, honey, and hugs at Trade Day, and freely sharing skills at gatherings like Learn to Can and Bread Class.

communications break down

The last Trade Day was held in late September 2022. Relations with the Community Center, which was not involved in the event except to OK the use of the outdoor pavillion and receive our donations, had begun declining in early August 2022 when the PMCC Board blamed a high power bill on the Learn to Can class. They had forgotten that the energy-intensive Annual BBQ Fundraiser had occurred in the same billing period.

Board members said they would create a facility use policy and meet with residents in September. Instead they "postponed" the meeting on the morning of, never rescheduled, and removed access to most of the community, as described here.

Now that PMCC community events are again a rare occurrence, the "Community Center" name feels like a misnomer. Although the 501(c)(3) nonprofit states that the organization exists to “serve the community,” the only open event at PMCC is Bluegrass Jamboree, for which musicians travel across the state to play for a passing of the hat, while PMCC takes all concession proceeds.

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Trade Day