Thursday, December 04, 2008

For the past few months, The Tango Center, at 194 West Broadway, has hosted a diverse market-dance-art-cafe event known as The Weekday Market. It's every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 10am - 4pm, with extended hours during the First Friday Artwalk and this Friday's Downtown Holiday Party.

The Weekday Market was inspired by the building it is in: the only building ever built as a farmer's market in Eugene. As such, we have a year-round local organic farmer's market inside, usually on Wednesday and Friday, in cooperation with Lane County Farmer's Market. At any moment you can find meetings, yoga classes, dance practice, art events, live music, DJ'd music, and the normal diversity of a university-town cafe ... professors, poets, students, downtown workers, artists etc. It has wifi, a performance sound system, one of the world's best social dance floors, and a cafe with constantly changing menu based on the farmers' local produce ... translated into an Ethiopian and Argentine menu. There's locally-roasted fair trade espresso, empanadas, mate, soups, artisan bread by Il Forno Pane, and a wide range of artists.

We soon start a capital campaign to buy the building, which we would like to restore to its former beauty. The year-round market would complement our successful evening activity, The Tango Center: a non-profit, all-ages, community dance-hall and exhibition space.