mas. Booths—350 of them—with original artwork and unusual foods cover the pavement. Strolling minstrels entertain the throngs of tourists—eight to ten thousand people most weekends, twice that number around Christmastime. Self-supporting arts organizations are rare. The Portland Saturday Market began in 1974 with thirty booths and a $1,000 Metropolitan Arts Commission grant. It has since paid back the grant, pays the city for support services, and has become a nonprofit corporation run by a board of directors. All of the operating expenses—an estimated $280,000 in 1981—come from vendors' fees, which are ten percent of gross sales. In line with its self-reliant policy, the market relies on vendors' talents to provide for its needs—installing electrical lines or building booths, for example. With no middlemen, low overhead and high traffic, the market is a good way for craftspeople to break into business, a good way to see if what they produce is marketable, and a good way for people producing items not marketable on a production basis to get exposure, according to Nancy Biasi, the market's promotions coordinator. Vendors have to be pretty self-reliant to be successful. Some vendors even use the market as a springboard into retail operations. About half of the vendors make their living from market sales alone. Unlike most art fairs, the market review board does not pass aesthetic judgment. Beginners and professionals can participate equally. However, the review committee does require the crafts to be handmade by the person selling them. Furthermore, the market encourages performing artists by hiring entertainers and by contributing to strolling minstrels who play and pass the hat. Besides the weekend event, the market sponsors crafts demonstrations and displays and helps craftspeople with wholesaling arrangements and marketing seminars. Northwest Neighborhood Federal Credit Union 527 N.W. 21st Portland, OR 97210 503/224-0837 The Northwest Credit Union takes the savings of area residents and recycles them into local loans. In this way, community money remains available where it can provide more income possibilities for community residents. And because the credit union is owned and controlled by its members—people who work or live in Northwest Portland—it is more attentive to community needs. Jazz at Saturday Market 75
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