The Chattanooga Market has experienced a 300 percent increase in vendor sales since 2008, with last year’s vendors raking in more than $2 million. Signal Mountain officials hope Market Director Paul Smith can bring some of that success to this year’s Hodgepodge.
A contract between Smith and the town of Signal Mountain is still pending – at a time when planning for the September event would normally already be under way – but Town Manager Honna Rogers said there’s no reason the fall craft show shouldn’t go off without a hitch. Smith and the town have both already agreed to the terms of the contract as contained in his submitted plan based on the town’s request for proposals to take charge of the event, Rogers said.
Smith was the only one who submitted a proposal, she said.
“I have no doubt it will go smoothly,” she said of this year’s event, which will be a transition from the Friends of MACC- and MACC Foundation-led versions of years past. “[The Chattanooga Market is] very used to running these types of events.”
The contract for this year’s Hodgepodge is intended to be just that. Any future arrangements will be made following an evaluation of this year’s event.