Passionate About Markets

I’m so happy to be blogging about public markets, one of my favorite things in life, something that I would have trouble living without. Originally from Los Angeles and now living in New Delhi, India for at least two years, I’m a CUSO-VSO Canada volunteer, http://www.cuso-vso.org/. I will be working for the National Trust, http://thenationaltrust.in/, an Indian governmental organization that works with people living with disabilities. The Trust has over 800 partner organizations throughout India and I will be helping them with fundraising. I was last in India in 2006 as a tourist. I had wanted to come back to live and kept rupees in my wallet for the day that I would return!

I’ve been a market “nut” or “fruit” or “veggie” for over 20 years, having first come into contact with markets when I worked for the City of Oakland-Office Of Economic Development and Employment in 1987 when I became the Market Manager for the Housewives Market, now located in the Swan’s Marketplace http://www.swansmarket.com/. I was very fortunate in being able to attend the very first PPS Public Market Conference in 1987 in Seattle and since that time I’ve beenPassionate About Markets. Throughout the years, I’ve also attended many other public market conferences and seminars.

I was the coordinator (volunteer) of the New London, CT farmers’ market for 10 years, worked for a stint as the Market Master of the Central Market in Lancaster, PA and spent last summer in Los Angeles working for Market Umbrella,http://www.marketumbrella.org/, researching a number of SEE-LA, http://www.see-la.org/, operated markets including the Hollywood Farmers’ Market and six other markets located in ethnic communities as well as the Kaiser Permanente-Woodland Hills http://members.kaiserpermanente.org/redirects/farmersmarkets/in-southern-california.htm market. The research clearly showed how markets help to create community.

I’ve visited so many public markets across the United States and was recently in Ottawa, Montreal, Berlin and now India. At all times, I’m always looking out for markets to visit and photograph. I hope to post my pictures on openair.org at some point but for now, if interested, you can view my pictures either on facebook or athttp://picasaweb.google.com/michaelrosenkrantz2/.

* More about just what I'm passionate about in my next blog!