By: Cassidy Garrett
On Saturday, April 26, Savannah had its first ever Savannah Market Bazaar. The event was put on by New Moon of Savannah, a social organization, and was held in the parking lot of the old Sears building on Henry Street between Bull and Drayton streets. Vendors began setting up at 6:30 a.m. and customers shopped from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m.
A new organization in town, New Moon of Savannah, is a social venture that promotes community building. Mixing business strategies with community awareness and passion, they are a business with a mission and yearn “to make a positive impact on the community and world by designing and creating community-oriented programs and leading and empowering social change.” New Moon of Savannah aspires to produce and encourage innovative and socially conscious events focusing on people, ideas and the environment. The Savannah Market Bazaar is a great example of their business effort.
As the organization’s first community event, co-founder Miriam Hodesh stated that the goal for the event was “to bring the community together for an old-fashioned market of buying and selling and possibly bartering.” Although it rained on Saturday, the event was still a success. Vendors kept their own profits, but paid a small entry fee for their booth space. The objective was to get a diverse group of people interested in selling and bargaining and having fun doing it. Items sold at the bazaar ranged from glassware, jewelry, hats, bags, photographs, fibers and materials to antiques, art supplies, African beads, clothing and games.
Hodesh, who founded New Moon of Savannah with her husband Jacob Hodesh, states, “Our business concept is to partner with the citizen sector, in order to promote community development and impact social change. We hope that non-profits and socially minded businesses will seek to use New Moon of Savannah as a way to enhance their organizations programs, goals and missions.” The Savannah Market Bazaar was administered as an event for the community. Since Savannah is “the creative coast,” New Moon of Savannah wanted to create an event for the community to gather and celebrate its originality in a unified, driven way. The organization would like for the bazaar to become a monthly event.
Anyone who attended the bazaar is asked to email comments, ideas and feedback in regards to the event to miriam@newmoonofsavannah.com. While it is a new association, New Moon of Savannah’s founders are hitting the ground running. Other events in the works include dog shows, car races, biodiesel initiatives, cook offs, fashion shows, music and comedic entertainment, citywide art installations and more. Hodesh said, “We want to change the world and living our lives as social entrepreneurs is the way to do it.”
