Riverside Arts Market re-opening March 6

March 3, 2010
by
3 mins read
Folio Weekly

by Erin Thursby
The Riverside Arts Market opened last year to unprecedented success. That success cleared the way for more localized markets to open. Though it seemed like it sprung up overnight, it was years in the making. That research and dedication since RAM was merely an idea in 1993 has paid off in both economic value and entertainment.
After a brief hiatus, from late December of last year, the main RAM market is set to reopen. (The farmer’s market portion of RAM has remained in operation during this time, although with slightly different hours).
For those of you who haven’t experienced RAM, it’s situated under the Fuller Warren Bridge as it passes over Riverside Avenue in Riverside. The bridge structure offers some protection from the weather and sun.
RAM Market director Tony Allegretti says that this year’s RAM “will have a lot of the great features we had last year like great local arts, foods, produce, bike valet, and free wifi.”
Though they’ve made their criteria for art a bit more stringent to ensure that all the offerings are handmade, they’ll also be adding another section called FRINGE.
This section, explains Allegretti, includes “outsider art and activities that don’t quite fit our art criteria. Some FRINGE vendors that we have already accepted include the Library’s Zine Collection, a Mobile Record Store and Commuter Bikes from Holland.”
On the March 6th opening day, the event will revolve around a walk from area parks (Memorial, Balis and the North Bank Riverwalk at the Hogan Street gazebo) to the RAM site. The event will promote orthopedic health and awareness of reducing our carbon footprint through walking rather than driving. Each entrant will receive a tree for planting. See www.joionline.net for details and sign up.
Past RAM entertainers and events have included–and this a long list, so take a deep breath before reading it out loud: “a dog parade…a national break-dance championship, giant puppets, a man escaping from two straight jackets and chains while hanging upside down from an 18-foot tower, the Guinness Book of Records juggler, two state-champion magicians, two fire boats shooting water cannons in the river, a bag piper, a barbershop quartet, a body-painted man in a loin cloth playing a didgeridoo, an alligator exhibit, a dancing gorilla, a sitar concert, three full orchestras, zombies…acrobats, 31 clowns…two fire eaters, the entire cast of the musical Hair…over 20 belly dancers…four hula hoopers, a human pretzel, a Viking ship, an Improv troupe, 10 celebrity chefs feeding over 1,000 people free food, a 9-foot-tall stilt-walking beauty queen, 38 different free Children’s Creativity programs, two puppet shows, a bubble party, four balloon artists, a hip-hop popper, a lacrosse demonstration, H1N1 flu shots provided, an 80-year-old fire truck, a fencing demonstration, a hybrid car test drive, a free health-screening clinic, several live television broadcasts, a Halloween costume competition, a weekly bicycle valet, pedicab service and a backpack collection drive.”
You would think that with a diverse list such as that, they wouldn’t be able to top last year’s events and entertainment, but Allegretti says that there will be plenty of new stuff this year: “We will have a great many new bands and entertainers especially traveling entertainers, as the word is out all around the country that RAM is a hot spot for fun entertainment.”
Go to www.riversideartsmarket.com for more information on the Riverside Arts Market!
RAM Facts from Year One:
Economic impact – several million dollars. (The market has had over a million in on-site sales, and add to this the salaries, purchase cost of artists’ and vendor’s raw materials, hotel rooms, sales tax, advertising, printing, stimulus of local businesses, etc., and the three-fold recycling of money in the local economy, RAM has had well over $4 million in local economic impact.
. Over 700 different artists have exhibited at RAM.
. Nearly a half million visitors have attended RAM. (38 weeks x 15,000 avg. per week. RAM has drawn more people than our NFL team.)
. The average price of item sold at RAM is $30 to $50, but some artists have sold work in the thousands of dollars.
. RAM has over 150 volunteers that have participated at RAM. 30 of those are semi-regular weekly participants. (38 weeks x 12 volunteers per week x 4 hour shifts per week = 1,824 volunteer hours). Plus RAM’s steering committee “RAMROD” has put in well over 8,000 hours, pushing RAM volunteers into over 10,000 hours.
. Over 250 different entertainers have performed at RAM.
. Over 100 non-profit organizations have received free exposure at RAM.
. RAM has become one of the top twenty community markets in the U.S. in its first year, and RAM was recognized in USA Today as Top 10 River City Destinations.
. RAM is the largest weekly free outdoor arts and entertainment venue in Florida, perhaps in the South.
. RAM has become one of the most spectacular public spaces in Jacksonville, if not Florida. RAM has a devoted following of weekly local visitors, and out-of-town visitors have begun choosing RAM as a destination for their vacations (not just a stop on the way to Disney).

Folio is your guide to entertainment and culture around and near Jacksonville, Florida. We cover events, concerts, restaurants, theatre, sports, art, happenings, and all things about living and visiting Jax. Folio serves more than two million readers across Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, including St. Augustine, The Beaches, and Fernandina.

Current Issue

SUBMIT EVENTS

Submit Events

Advertisements

SingOutLoadFestival_TheAmp_2025
liz-buys-houses-digital
generac-home-standby-generator-banners

Date

Title

Current Month

Follow FOLIO!

Folio Weekly
Previous Story

Life is a Festival

Folio Weekly
Next Story

THE MESSENGER movie review

Latest from Feature

FSCJ: One Commencement, Three Graudation Terms.

Words by Za’Nya Davis  At Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ), students have the ability to earn degrees during three terms — spring, summer and fall, but it is the college’s annual tradition to hold only one commencement ceremony in late May. For summer and fall graduates of that

Tip Me Once, Tax Me Twice. 

Words by Kaili Cochran With tipping and tax laws evolving, platforms like Cash App are changing not just how people pay, but also what is owed on tax day. Before 2024, you needed at least $20,000 in payments and 200 transactions from a full calendar year to be

Facebook Crusaders 

Words by Carmen Macri  With great power comes great responsibility — and no one takes that more seriously than the keyboard warriors. Welcome to the digital age, where online vigilantes thrive. You know the type: Facebook detectives and Twitter sleuths (and no, we’re not calling it X) who

FIVE, 4, 3, 2, 1…

The wait is over, Jacksonville welcomes a new music venue Words by Ambar Ramirez & photos by Jalen Hines (@jalenwaynehines on IG) “All are welcome at FIVE.” When word got out that Sun-Ray Cinema — beloved, historic and a true 5 Points gem — was screening its final
GoUp

Don't Miss

The Avett Brothers

November 15 The Avett Brothers St. Augustine Amphitheatre (904) 471-1965

Paula Poundstone

Paula Poundstone “Twitter is the postcards in my head.” It’s