They called their merchants “weekend warriors”, and their event The Weekend Habit.
Residents at Crescent West area have seen quite a few weekend markets at Burgos Park, a small open space located at the end of Forbestown Road near Icon Residences, over the last two years. They were usually very hip and family oriented events, with vendors selling unique food products and performances by young artists. There would be demonstrations of yoga and places for people to lounge around, in a setting there was both trendy and relaxing. However, the events never seem to stay or have a regular schedule. It happens for a few weekends, and then disappear, much to the disappointment of residents.
It was therefore with trepidation that we welcomed the Weekend Habit market to Burgos Park last September 2 and 3.
We went there at around 5pm on the Saturday, and caught a live performance by a singer. There were small white tents and a few stalls. Some were selling novelty items, like handmade dolls and jewelries, decorative plants, and a few stalls offering food items such as beef cubes, and rolled ice-cream.
One of the merchants specialized in hand-made dolls.
It was an eclectic mix of products and merchants. Weekend markets like this are a good venue for newbie-entrepreneurs to try out their new ideas, as the cost involved is limited.
The setting was trendy and relaxing, like it should be for the type of event and the neighborhood.
A group of students banded together to try out this business idea of selling rolled ice cream with unique flavors.
You will be forgiven for thinking that events like this are organized by an experienced event management company. This well-organized event was actually put together by two young ladies who graduated not that long ago from the same college.
Joie and Gianelle, the dynamic duo behind The Weekend Habit, met at college where both of them studied advertising. They definitely have put what they learned to good practice.
We met with them after the first Weekend Habit and asked them about their Weekend Habit journey.
According to Joie, she got the idea of organizing a weekend market in Burgos Park because they saw how successful the weekend markets at Makati were, and thought that the demographics of Fort Bonifacio should be able to support similar weekend markets.
They used what they learned from college and prepared a very appealing ‘deck’ for potential merchants that provided answers to all pertinent questions that could be raised. They ended up with more interested merchants than they could accommodate!
As you watch the video below, you can tell that these two smart ladies really put all their energy into every stage of the event.
Keep It Going
They have already announced that The Weekend Habit at Burgos Park will be held in October 7 & 8, and November 4 & 5. Based on the experience of the first round, they have adjusted the hours of The Weekend Habit to 11am to 9pm. This is good news for us residents living in the west side of Fort Bonifacio. We will definitely go there to check out the farm products as well as novelty items and food.