Beginning June 14, downtown Morgan Hill’s Third Street transforms into a bustling marketplace where local artisans, small business owners and aspiring young entrepreneurs gather to showcase their wares every second Saturday of the month.
“Sidewalk Saturdays is really about supporting our local and small businesses,” said Michelle Bigelow, Morgan Hill City Clerk and public information officer. “As we all know, storefronts can be really challenging and sometimes expensive, and we have a lot of amazing retailers and different artisans and craft folks, and this gives them a place to be able to sell their wares and engage with the community.”
The monthly market takes place on Third Street from 9am-2pm, through December. The street is partially closed during the market, allowing vendor booths to occupy both the center of the street and surrounding sidewalks, accommodating up to 50 vendors per event.
Sidewalk Saturdays operates on a rotating vendor system, ensuring fresh variety for shoppers while providing opportunities for different artisans to participate. The June 14 market featured jewelers, clothiers, face-paint artists and even a slime merchant.
“They rotate through different vendors, so it’s not the same people every Saturday,” Bigelow said. “That gives different vendors, different artisans, an opportunity to come, have a space, get some exposure, and sell their wares.”
The market has created opportunities for fostering youth entrepreneurship, including youngster Matthew Malonzo, whose booth featured Minecraft- and Pokemon-themed “Perler Petz,” a type of handcrafted toy composed of fused plastic beads. Matthew’s father, Charles Malonzo, said his child’s participation in the Morgan Hill Children’s Business Fair led to an invitation to Sidewalk Saturday.
His son’s success even inspired Charles to open his own booth at the event to market his own work.
“He inspired me to start my own thing,” he said. “I was like, dude, if he can do it, I can do it!”
Prospective vendors can apply through the Morgan Hill Downtown Improvement District’s website at buylocalmorganhill.com/sidewalk-saturdays-1.
This year, the MHDID introduces an addition to the monthly Sidewalk Saturdays with two Twilight Markets, on Thursday, June 19 from 4-8pm, as well as Aug. 21. These create opportunities for vendors to participate who would otherwise not be able to join the Saturday morning markets.
