On Sunday, Oct. 3, 6,000 people shuffled into the Missouri Botanical Garden from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to Missouri vendors selling food, home supplies, jewelry, art décor, and more.
The Best of Missouri Market event was underway.
“What always excites me is the mix of crafters, food producers, and activities for the kids,” said Chelsea Bowerman, an event coordinator at the Botanical Garden, “We have over 80 vendors this year, and a handful of newcomers are committed to sustainability. That's really exciting to me.”
Under a large, white tent, around 50 vendors manned their cubicles to sell goods or pre-packaged food. Under this cover, guests were greeted by unconventional vendors who rarely travel to other market events in St. Louis such as Isabee’s Bee Keeping Equipment & Supplies. Isabee’s says that they offer essentials for both amateur and experienced beekeepers, along with instructional classes specific to beekeeping in Central Missouri and Illinois.
Another booth under the big tent, Litterbugs: Repurposed Critters & Winged Things, caught a swarm of attendees. Owned by a local artist and Washington University in St. Louis graduate, "Litterbug Bob", Litterbugs transforms used materials into sculptures.
“I attempt to recover junk bound for the dumpsters and turn that stuff into entomological art,” Litterbug Bob. He said he was glad that sustainable companies and practices had a greater showing this year at Best of Missouri Market.
A flower sculpture from Litterbugs
The event had six disposing stations with a guide sitting behind each one. The station included a landfill, a composting, and a recycling section. The guides pointed to the appropriate section for each item a guest tossed, including a lot of food trash eaten at the garden.
Ozark Forest Mushrooms was one of seven vendors lined up in a section to sell hot meals. They offered two delicious dishes, starring mushrooms as the featured ingredient. A long line of people persisted in front of the register during the afternoon.
“Our farm is in the forest between Salem and Eminence Missouri. We get most of our mushrooms in that forest, and we do some producing here in St. Louis as well,” said the man working the point of sales system. Their farm has a deep commitment to sustainability according to both the man at the register and The Ozark Forest Mushroom website.
Buddha's Delight (Vegan) from Ozark Forest Mushrooms
West of the Climatron, the non-profit Perennial hosted sustainable pumpkin decorating for kids. More than fifteen kids at a time sat on benches, waiting for their chance to come on stage to decorate a pumpkin.
“We are a community crafting studio, and we offer classes that put into place reuse and material reduction,” said Quincy Phipps, an outreach specialist from Perennial, “So, what we’re doing today is using natural, decomposing adhesives instead of paint or bleach. We leave it to kids to hammer things like toothpicks into pumpkins and make really creative art that can go back into the earth and decompose.”
People in the foreground hover around goats, llamas, and alpacas while the covered stage in the background hosts kids decorating pumpkins.
Comments