The newly formed Telford Happenings Inc. is fresh into the third season of its open-air Telford Night Market, and things are looking bright for the weekly seasonal Wednesday night event at Telford Train Station at Penn Avenue and Main Street.
Things look even brighter for Telford Happenings Inc. — the organization is in the process of becoming official 501(c)(3) nonprofit status and it has more events on the horizon, including Christmas in July on July 21, a dog parade on August 18 hosted by Preston Elliot of Preston & Steve Show on WMMR, a Christmas tree lighting and Oktoberfest.
“I think it’s going really well,” said Telford Happenings Inc. Vice President Nicole Spiese. “It’s tough when the weather gets in the 90s, or there’s a threat of rain. The biggest vision that we have is we want to support local businesses and showcase them, and second, we want to be a part of the community and give back and reach out beyond Telford and Souderton to get the word out that we’re here.”
Telford Night Market, she said, gives people something to come back to in the wake of the pandemic.
“I’m happy with how it’s going so far. I get messages from people who want to be a part of this,” Spiese said. “It’s different than what everyone else was doing. We didn’t want to compete with Lansdale and Souderton, and Wednesday was a day that vendors didn’t have anything going on and works out for them.”
Every Wednesday from the beginning of June through September 1, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., nearly 20 vendors, a handful of food trucks, and musicians descend upon the train station parking lot with a plethora of wares and merchandise: hand-dipped ice cream; coffee, beer, wine and spirts; homemade baked goods, donuts, candies, soups, jams, salsas, marinara and hot sauces; handcrafted wreaths, headbands, scrunchies, and bags; hand and body lotion; dog treats; knife sharpening; mobile Modern Male haircuts; children’s crafts and book sharing from Indian Valley Public Library.
Musicians, food trucks and vendors vary each week. Michael Duva will perform this Wednesday, and food and service trucks this Wednesday include Modern Male Barber Shop, BB Kitchen & Grill, Waffle Mamas, Downtown Scoop, and Van Pelt Hot Dog Co. The nonprofit organization En Garde Souderton will hold a fencing demonstration and a raffle for a wooden sword and shield at $5 for one ticket and $20 for five tickets.
Vendors this year also include Fungified Farm, Five Saints Distilling, Matz Metalworks, The Confectionary Macarons and More, Jennie’s Delectable Bites, The Farmers Table, Country Creek Winery, Firehouse Donuts, Saint Rocco’s Treats, Smoke Break BBQ, Complete Wellness, Brewscuits, Round Guys Brewing Company, Urban Essence Salon & Spa, Nutty Novelties, Fraktured Hot Sauce, Venus Vintage Thrift & Antiques, Clean Green Growers, Lucky You Candle Co., Photography by Denna Kline, Broad Street Grind, The Farmer’s Table, Sweet Annie’s Candy Shoppe, Soyhut Candles, Charis Wellness Center, RaRa Creative, Hempworx, Tina’s Custom Silk Flower Design, CUTCO Knife Sharpening by Grechen Ott, and Joshua Tree All Things Custom.
Interested vendors can fill out an application on the Telford Happenings website.
“When they contact us to be part of the market, I contact them, find out about their business and what talents they bring to the market, and then decide if we go with them or not,” Spiese said. “People can pay for a table, $30 for a night, or half a season right now. Between vendors and food, we have about 15 to 20 businesses each night.”
Spiese said the local booked musicians have become so popular, she has started booking them more than twice a month.
Each week, Telford Happenings updates the Telford Night Market Facebook page with the list of expected vendors, food trucks, featured nonprofit, and musicians.
Christmas in July in two weeks means vendors decking their tables and canopies with Christmas décor, playing Christmas music and, yes, even Santa Claus will don the outfit during his vacation to make an appearance, complete with candy canes.
The August dog parade is open to anyone with a people-friendly and dog-friendly canine. Costumes are optional, Spiese said, and trophies are a possibility.
“(Events coordinator Teresa O’Rourke) is very creative,” Spiese said.
Telford Happenings Inc., according to its website, was created to promote social events and initiatives for the betterment of the community, while honoring Telford Borough’s historic, social, and commercial character. Telford Council on April 5 approved the Telford Happenings Inc. name, and named Dan Wurst, Spiese and Linda Tufft as president, vice president and secretary/treasurer, respectively.
It rose from the ashes of the defunct Souderton-Telford Main Streets group – which merged with Souderton Connects – and focused on bringing back something like the Indian Valley Farmer’s Market. It hired Events Coordinator Teresa O’Rourke and hit the ground running.
“We used to have Souderton-Telford Main Streets, and it oversaw a lot of events in Telford and Souderton. Some years ago, we had a farmer’s market on Saturdays, but after a while, we lost a lot of farmers, and they were replaced by non-farmers. It got to a point where it was not sustainable anymore,” Spiese said. “Souderton and Telford eventually went their own ways, and Telford-Souderton Main Streets went by the wayside and went away.”
Spiese said the Main Streets organization outlived its purpose and lost focus of what it was doing. Telford Borough Council members and the people of Telford wanted to continue helping businesses and bringing in new businesses and planning events, much like Souderton-Telford Main Streets did for the community.
“Three years ago, we decided, instead of a farmers market on Saturday, we should do a night market on Wednesday. It’s our biggest event,” Spiese said. “We have one farmer and a lot of people there selling food products and other items. We try to mix it up with musicians, and local nonprofits and businesses. It’s a showcase of local businesses for the area.”
It is not just showcasing of businesses – Telford Happenings makes sure to spotlight local nonprofits each week through demonstrations or donations. For instance, En Garde Fencing, Spiese said, helps support the fencing program at Souderton Area School District, and last week, Telford Night Market collected gently used clothes for a Perseverance Fire Company Auxiliary fundraiser for Souderton Fire Company firefighters.
“If an organization says, ‘we need help with something,’ we are here to do that,” Spiese said.
Now, Spiese and her colleagues want to keep the momentum going and growing. She wants to see vendors coming back, and people who like to shop at the market coming back. If anything, Spiese is happy just to see people outside and smiling.
“I’d like to see people outside of Souderton and Telford – from Perkasie or Lansdale or Harleysville – to come out to the market,” she said. “A lot of people outside of this area are not aware of what the market is.”
Telford, Spiese said, is a fantastic place to raise a family and meet people. When people of like civic minds come together, it pushes toward making things better for the town.
“I’ve lived here a little over 20 years … I’ve seen a lot of growth in town. When I moved in, there were not many playgrounds, and now they have started to renovate all the playgrounds. It gives you a push to say, ‘OK, what can we do better for the people here?’,” she said. “I’m a big advocate of local business, and a lot of people run their own business out of their homes or on Main Streets. For me, it puts a smile on my face that people are happy and look forward to this.”
Check out the Telford Night Market Facebook page for more details. Contact Telford Happenings Inc. at [email protected] or 484-513-7104.
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