By Jan Axelson
Northside News
A new community and arts event, the Commercial Avenue Bazaar, will take place Saturday, Sept. 5, 12–7 pm. The bazaar will feature open artist studios, creative activities, music, food, and special offers from small businesses. Activities will take place at multiple locations along the west end of Commercial Avenue, between North Sherman Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue, as well as south on Pennsylvania and nearby.
Participants include Communication Arts Collective, Roundhouse Studios artist spaces, The Kiln Shed community ceramics studio, the Bodgery makerspace, Patricia’s Market Taqueria and Groceries, It’s Good for You Pizza, Lost Lakes Tattoo, and LeafLife, a cannabis retailer.
At Roundhouse Studios, you can visit a railroad caboose in the lobby, a Raccoon Museum, and open houses by resident artists. Three bands will perform in the parking lot area.
At Lost Lakes Tattoo, the Treasure Chest gift shop will have a sale on art, vintage goods, Halloween items and fun surprises. The Kiln Shed, celebrating its fourth year, will host an open-house pottery sale. Other participants are planning a variety of activities and offers.
The idea for the bazaar sprang from a conversation between Syd Chamberlin of Lost Lakes Tattoo and Sara Meredith of Communication Arts Collective. Sara recalled, “The evening after our meeting my brain woke me up in the middle of the night with a nearly fully fledged idea to host a community event along Commercial Avenue eventually connecting creative spaces, local restaurants and industry in the immediate area, and the tentative name Commercial Ave Bazaar has stuck.”
The Oscar Mayer Plan, adopted in 2020, envisions the area around Commercial Avenue as a mixed-use activity hub that welcomes the entire Northside community. The Commercial Avenue Bazaar hopes to embody the spirit of this goal and also honor the Northside’s over 100 years of industrial activity.
