Staff photo.
Shoppers browse at a merchant’s stall during 2018 Market Day in Mountain Brook Village. After being hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Market Day will be back in its usual form July 17.
Market Day, a shopping event held annually in Mountain Brook Village, began years ago to celebrate Bastille Day, said Molly Wallace, project manager for the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce.
But since then, Market Day “has turned into a big sale day for merchants to clear out inventory before their new fall merchandise starts arriving,” she said.
The event was not held officially in July 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though it continued in some form.
However, Market Day will be back in Mountain Brook Village, including Lane Parke, in full force all day on Saturday, July 17.
The event is in its 20th year, Wallace said.
Once again, the merchants in Mountain Brook Village will offer their biggest sales of the year. “You may see special trunk shows, pop-ups and celebrations, but primarily you’ll see deep discounts,” Wallace said.
If history is a guide, there will be a big turnout of shoppers.
“Market Day historically draws the biggest crowds of the year,” Wallace said
The event has “turned out to be a big deal,” said Ricky Bromberg, president of the Chamber of Commerce and president of Bromberg’s jewelry in Mountain Brook Village. “It spills out on the sidewalk, and people come from all over to take advantage of the bargains.”
The sale attracts people from across the Birmingham metropolitan area and even the state of Alabama, Wallace said.
“We get the opportunity to welcome people to the village who may not cross its beaten path on a regular basis,” she said.
Market Day is “a bargain hunter’s paradise” that offers “deals everywhere,” Bromberg said. “People are having fun and saving money at the same time.”
Market Day was not actually canceled in 2020, though many merchants chose not to participate, Wallace said. “It was definitely not as big of an affair as it has been in the past,” she said.
“I think some [merchants] went ahead and had modified versions of it,” Bromberg said.
Bromberg’s held their sale last year but in an altered format due to COVID-19 safety protocols.
“We had it 100% outside last year, but most years it’s inside and outside,” Bromberg said.
Even this year, shoppers should check with their favorite merchants ahead of time to see what their individual Market Day protocols are, Wallace said.
“But I do think we will see a ramped-up event and crowd in the village,” she said.
People in the village are glad to see Market Day come back, Bromberg said.
“For one thing, it’s a sign of normalcy,” he said.
The shopping area at Lane Parke will be a part of Market Day with many of its merchants offering sales. In addition, Lane Parke will host the next installment in its new Summer Pop-Up series.
The Summer Pop-Up events will be held on selected Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The pop-ups on site July 17 will be Cheese All That, Heezie’s, Plant Stand, Sweet Spun Cotton Candy and Namesake Celebrations.
On July 3, Daughters Baking will be the featured business.
On Saturday, July 10, Virginia Nelson Designs, Little Miss Therapist and Hughston & C will be at the Summer Pop-Up.
For more about chamber events, call 205-871-3779 or go to mtnbrookchamber.org.
