The BTV Market

We are planning on presenting 40+ vendors each week. Booths will be located on Main st, Saint Paul St., College St., and the BCA patio area. All vendor booths will be on hardscaped surfaces and not on the grass.

In short, yes. While trucks are not allowed, small non-motorized trailers or food carts are allowed. However, please reach out to us with specifics, as parking these units into vendor slots could be challenging. Per a city ordinance, no food trucks are allowed to operate in the Central Peddlers District in Burlington.

Yes, all vendors will get a 10'x10' space to set up. Vendors are responsible for their own tent, displays, additional lighting or décor, table (s), chairs and any materials needed for setting up your display.

In general, yes, City Hall Park was developed with significant infrastructure to support events and markets. Food vendors will get first priority with electricity. If you need a reasonable amount of additional power, we will be able to accommodate a small number of requests and ask that you please note your power needs on your application. 

Cooking with wood or propane is allowed as long as you bring a fire extinguisher. Please note any on-site cooking in your application so we can place you appropriately and consider nuisance smoke.

Like the Vermont weather, it’s complicated. With a market that is four hours long, the weather can vary over that time frame. Here’s the plan:

• The market is by and large a rain or shine event, with the exception of extreme weather (heavy

rain, high wind over 25mph, or lightning) or a combination of weather elements (rain + wind

over 25mph). We suggest you travel with tarps, even when the weather looks to be decent.

• The BTV Market team will meet at 8 am on Saturday to review the forecast for the day, looking

at radar and hourly weather predictions on numerous weather sites to make an Official Weather

Cancellation (OWC). Rain will need to be greater than 70% chance, wind higher than 20 mph or

lightning to be in the forecast for us to consider a delay or close.

• If there is extreme weather at 9 am on Saturday but looking like it will clear, we will delay the

market by one hour, with a market start at 12 pm instead of 11 am but still ending at 3 pm. At

10 am, if the forecast is still looking unfavorable, we will cancel the market with an OWC.

• We will track any potential lighting during the market. Any strike within 8 miles requires that the

market cease operations, and we will encourage everyone to seek cover. We realize this is hard,

given that you have your merchandise to look after. Make the best decisions you can at the

time. The market will then be paused until 30 minutes after the last lighting strike in our 8-mile

radius. This is standard life safety for outdoor events.

• If NOAA issues a severe weather warning for our area, we will follow the same procedure as

noted above. This is only for a warning, which means the severe weather is imminent (as

opposed to a watch).

• All market communications will be via email, including weather alerts and information.

Cancellations of a market date that an artist, maker or food vendor has paid for must be done by noon on the Thursday 2 WEEKS before that market. Cancellations done after that point will NOT receive credit unless an Official Weather Cancellation (OWC) is made. Refunds will not be made until the end of the season.

We recognize that having a 50-vendor market load-in at the same time is a challenge. With that in mind, anticipate that City Hall Park might be congested. Please plan ahead. We will have a temporary parking loading zone on College Street, Main Street, and Saint Paul Street. You can unload and load up here for only as long as it takes to load or unload. Please use these spaces with others in mind. You can park temporarily in spaces with orange meter bags. The other spaces are traditional paid metered spaces.

Load-in times will start an hour to an hour and a half ahead of the market opening. Break down and loadout will be for an hour following the close of the market. Once you unload, you will need to find garage or street parking as available. The Downtown Garage (formerly Lakeside Garage) on College Street is nearby and offers the first two hours of parking free every day.

Yes! Look for Burlington Telecom Guest and log on.

Getting insurance to cover you and your merchandise in the park may seem like a big step, but insurance is a good idea for all involved. It helps protect you and your merchandise in the event of a mishap. Getting liability insurance isn’t always as expensive as it seems, and it can be used in any other endeavors of your small business. We are happy to share resources or assist you in getting insurance. We are requiring proof of insurance for participation. Please reach out with further questions or if this presents a challenge.

A community panel will review all applications at the same time and create a pool of diverse vendors for the BTV Market. Once approved, applicants will be notified by mid-April on their acceptance and schedule. Finally, we will look at all the date requests and program each market to have a good rangeof offerings, working within each vendor's date selections. See the application for more information.

There is one outdoor restroom located between the College Street terrace and the BCA patio area. If the restroom is occupied or out of order, City Hall has available restrooms. To get to the City Hall restrooms,

walk through the alleyway located between BCA and City Hall to Church Street, turn right and enter the door that is under the stairs to City Hall.

We also encourage out vendors to bring lots of water and sunscreen to the market every day. If rain or high winds are expected, please dress appropriately and bring tarps to protect your products.

The City of Burlington is actively looking for funding for small event grants for individuals needing financial assistance. In the past, we offered grants ranging from $50 - $350 for purchasing insurance, paying for market fees and paying for access to a community kitchen or food commissary. We are not able to confirm event grant availability at this time.

The City is actively trying to arrange for private security at the BTV Market. Due to staffing shortages, we are not able to confirm full coverage at this time. Stay tuned for an update.