Fairbury VFW promotes small businesses, community engagement and veteran recognition with first indoor market
FAIRBURY, Neb. (News Channel Nebraska) – This weekend, the Fairbury Veterans of Foreign Wars/American Legion center opened its doors to host a new indoor market, bringing into one place more than a dozen craftspeople, vendors and small business owners from across eastern Nebraska.
It’s a way for local vendors to get together in the winter just like they do at events like the farmers markets in the summers, utilizing the space in a local establishment to contribute to a local community while also celebrating military veterans.
“The whole motivation is for the veterans and the American Legion, all of them…when you raised your hand, and you made that pledge, and you said you’d put your life on the line for us, there’s no greater honor than that, so I want to thank them, help them and support them in any way that I possibly can,” said Kellie Chambers, the bar and club manager of the VFW.
Saturday’s event featured 15 total vendors from all across the state, some even coming from faraway towns like Beaver Crossing or bigger places in the Lincoln metro. Many of them sold items of their own creation, handmade items like blankets, woodwork, baked goods and jewelry.
Uniting all these like-minded people from many different places under one roof helps expose locals to these new vendors and products, while also helping area newcomers learn more about the community they’re calling home for a day.
“I want to drive community unity,” Chambers said. “With everything that’s going on in the world nowadays, we need to lift each other up, we need to support each other. There’s so many people, elderly people, veterans, that are struggling to buy food or take care of themselves, so all of the funds either go to veteran’s suicide relief fund, or a disaster fund. I’m trying to boost that for them to help them and the community.”
Organizers estimated a few hundred people made their ways through the VFW throughout the day Saturday for the first of these indoor markets in Fairbury – a second one is scheduled for late March, with a whole new slate of vendors signed up to attend.
“We’ve had a ton of foot traffic today, I’ve been very impressed with how many people have been coming,” Chambers said Saturday afternoon. “Normally we wouldn’t see this large of a crowd here, so I’m very impressed with how the community has come together and stepped up, whether they purchase something or not, that’s fine. We want people to know that we are open to the public, it’s not just a members-only club.”
Those interested in joining the rotation of vendors in future editions of this event can contact the Fairbury VFW by phone or through their Facebook page.
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