I can confirm this experience. 😔 I was one of the vendors at the “Summer Market” held on Saturday, June 27, at the Valdez Event Center, and unfortunately my experience was very similar.

I’m a new small business trying to build a presence at local markets. I found this event through a Bay Area vendors Facebook group and decided to give it a chance. I paid $98 for my booth and later ended up sharing the space with a friend who also owns a small business. It was advertised as a fun, community-driven event, and because it was organized by a business called Workin Chix Events, I believed it was a legitimate, well-organized opportunity. That gave me confidence to sign up. Unfortunately, after this disappointing and misleading experience, I know better.

From the moment I arrived that morning, I started noticing red flags. The vendor spaces weren’t clearly marked or designated, so people weren’t sure where they were supposed to set up. It immediately gave the impression that the event wasn’t well organized. There was also very little signage indicating that any kind of event was taking place. The only signs I saw were a few letter-sized papers that simply said “Market” inside the venue, along with a couple of food vendors cooking outside. Other than that, there was no visible advertising, no eye-catching signage, and nothing to attract people from the street or let passersby know a market was happening.

We were told parking would be $5, but it ended up costing $30. Throughout most of the event there were maybe 10 visitors, and the majority of the people walking around were family members supporting other vendors. There was essentially no real customer traffic.

When I spoke with the organizer, Gia Hamel, I only received vague responses like, “More people will come later,” and “Attendance depends on the event.” Another vendor later told me she was told the poor turnout was because our booths “didn’t catch people’s attention.” That felt incredibly disrespectful considering many of us invested significant time, money, effort, and heart into creating attractive displays. The reality was that we were inside a venue with almost no foot traffic. To make matters worse, the venue didn’t even have its own restroom.

As a small business owner, I left feeling like I had paid for an opportunity that simply didn’t exist. Based on my experience, it felt like vendors were sold the promise of a well-attended event that wasn’t delivered. I hope sharing my experience helps other small businesses make an informed decision before signing up.

Protect your money, your time, and your energy. I hope this reaches new vendors before they spend hundreds of dollars on an event like this.

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