the bloomington farmer's market

In visiting the Bloomington farmer's market and observing its attractions, it was very easy for me to see how this place follows the participatory model. Certain qualities of the market reminded me of several of the aspects of participatory music, and when making observations I mentally compared the two (the farmer's market and a participatory music making venue) to see how similar they actually were.

While at the market, I compared the interactions throughout the morning with those one would typically see in a "high-fidelity" grocery shopping alternative (such as Kroger's). The farmer's market was different in several major ways. First of all, people seemed to be there to socialize almost as much as buy things; I witnessed customers and vendors interacting on a first-name basis and having familiar conversations as transactions were made, something that would never happen at a supermarket. In general, shoppers seemed very laid back and took their time (as opposed to the hurried, "get-in-get-out" attitudes of supermarket-shoppers). Many carried reusable bags (the food at the stalls was minimally packaged, and vendors rarely gave out plastic bags). There were also musical ensembles of all kinds (standup bass/guitar/fiddle/banjo, guitar, fiddle/irish step dance, guitar/harmonica/bass, African drummer/dancer) which added to the comfortable atmosphere.

The atmosphere was also much more festive than at a typical supermarket; there were performers (musicians and dancers), small children dancing, and people of all ages exchanging pleasantries and eating as they walked. I also noticed that the farmer's market community was extremely diverse; there were people ranging in age from babies in strollers to elderly people with oxygen tanks, and people of several different religions (I saw a muslim woman in a hijab and several Amish or Mennonite vendors) (these differences were only the ones I could see, not idealogical). However, everyone shared a similar purpose for being there: to socialize, share music, exchange fresh produce and other products, and enjoy the morning and company of others. Everyone there had a different role, of course (customer, vendor, performer, etc.) but they were all essential to the farmer's market community and there was no hierarchy or level of importance. The emphasis was not on the end product but on the doing, the human interactions and spending time with others-- much like the goal of participatory music is social bonding.

Here is my social map of the farmer's market. 

Other than near the musical ensembles, there was not really any one place that was more popular than another or had a greater concentration of people near it; people were almost equally interspersed throughout the entire market, browsing and shopping. The areas with performing musicians saw a bit more traffic but their audiences weren't static and people did not really stay in one place for very long. The atmosphere was not concentrated in one spot; it was everywhere.