Friendship Adds To Flavor At Ybor Market

By STEVE KORNACKI The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 24, 2007

YBOR CITY - Nancy Henderson has been here from the start. The Tampa artist who specializes in drawing the city's landmarks is the only vendor remaining from that first Ybor City Saturday Market in April 2000.

"It wasn't very much at the start, but it built up," Henderson said Saturday. "There were changes and problems, but now we're flourishing."

It has grown from 25 vendors seven years ago to between 40 and 55 each week at Centennial Park in the historic neighborhood known for its cigar shops and nightlife. Market manager Lynn Schultz thinks it is the second-largest Tampa Bay area Saturday market behind the Saturday Morning Market in St. Petersburg.

Henderson's vending spot in a brick, open-air building is so special to her that she scattered some of the ashes of her husband behind it. Jim Henderson died four years ago and used to accompany her to the market after firing the tiles on her artwork during the week.

"I spread some of his ashes in the flower bed right there," Henderson said. "He just loved the market and everything about it."

The smell of just-baked bread and freshly cut pineapple and watermelon waft through the air, and the folk rock music of Frank "The Geezer" Hewlett beckons patrons who stroll up to vendors such as Gary Clark, who uses seashells as paintbrushes, and Dave DeAngelis, who weaves baskets made of pine needles and black walnut shells.

You Can Expect Surprises

There are plenty of items you don't anticipate and many that you do, such as the fresh fruits and vegetables of Jason Webb from Kilpatrick Produce in Clearwater and the hard-to-resist loaves at the Bread Table, a market fundraiser staffed Saturday by market founders Jan Platt and Art Keeble.

The market is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday until the fall, when closing time becomes 3 p.m. Visit www.yborfreshmarket.citysearch.com for a list of vendors and more information. The Tampa Tribune is among the market's sponsors.

Joe Rehak of New Tampa says he makes a 24-mile round trip every other week to shop at the market.

"I like the atmosphere and the friends you make with regulars and vendors," Rehak said. "And the produce is fresh."

Laura Reider of Temple Terrace had several bags filled with pineapples, strawberries, green beans, Brussels sprouts, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, green peppers and watermelon.

"The pineapple is just awesome, it's killer," Reider said. "It's why I come. And it's local, and you never know what to expect. One time they had a cigar festival, and another time there was an Italian festival."

Schultz, a market vendor before becoming its manager four years ago, says the special events connected to the market are what set it apart. The Festival del Sabor with its judging of Hispanic food dishes is Oct. 13, and other highlights include the Flan Fest in February and Paws in Ybor pet festival that was held April 28.

Inspiration From Oregon

Platt, a Hillsborough County commissioner for 24 years and a Tampa City Council member for four years, got the idea after visiting the Portland Saturday Market while in Oregon. "I thought, 'We've got to have one,'" Platt said.

Keeble, the executive director of the Arts Council of Hillsborough County, was a vendor at the Portland market and strongly agreed with Platt.

"This gives entrepreneurs an opportunity to sell items, and it's a great business training ground," Keeble said.

Clark, a Dunedin artist who applies acrylic paints with sunray venus clam shells and uses discarded plastic X-ray sensor boards as canvases, says it is the best market he has worked.

"There's a family atmosphere," he said. "You set up on Saturday and get a lot of hugs. You get asked, 'How was your week?' We're not competitors here, but friends."

Reporter Steve Kornacki can be reached at (813) 731-8170 or skornacki@tampatrib.com.