Travis Freeman is proud of what he’s accomplished with Tucson Trades, a twice-yearly collection of Tucson merchants selling their wares.
“The first one was extremely successful,” Freeman said. “We had an attendance of about 5,000 plus. We were hoping for a couple thousand, but a couple thousand flew through the doors the first hour. A large majority of the vendors sold out as well.”
Returning to the Tucson Convention Center on Saturday, Jan. 6, Tucson Trades will feature 130 vendors. Freeman has actively marketed his event to make sure vendors consider Tucson Trades worth their time.
Among the vendors are the Rialto Theater selling tickets, Ducky’s Pineapple Banana Bread and Chez Peachy, which offers bento cakes.
“Ducky’s is one of the favorite vendors at any market between here and Glendale,” said Freeman, who owns Healthful Flowers.
“We’ve been selling tickets to the event to purchase bread, and to get early access to the event. Folks can then get things before they sell out. All of those tickets are sold out.”
AZ Rescue Life will bring adoptable dogs and Freeman is vowing to have all of them adopted this time around.
Streetcars in Tucson advertised the event, which thrilled Freeman. For the summer Tucson trades, he’ll take over more rooms at the convention center, and bump the number of vendors to 400.
“We had 362 applications for this event. We’re aiming to double or triple that number so we can fill the place with 400 vendors this summer,” said the Catalina High School graduate.
“We’re going to take over the grand ballroom and all four of the exhibit halls that comic-con uses. The goal is 400, but the capacity is 525. If we utilize all the space we have upstairs and downstairs, it’ll be 525 vendors.”
Freeman said Tucson Trades started to protect the vendors from the elements.
“Things would pop up and arise,” he said. “We’ve had some issues with the weather, primarily and other environmental things. The opportunity to go inside seemed like a bright idea. Sometimes, we didn’t get the volume of people we were looking for.
“Having a partnership with TCC is great. I formerly worked with TCC as a hockey official with the Roadrunners. I was a penalty box official. As a facility, a lightbulb went off. With comic- con and the bridal expo in the TCC, I could see the potential of it. It’s open for every single person in this town to attend. It was a great alternative.”
Tucson Trades
WHEN: 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6
WHERE: Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Avenue, Tucson
COST: Free admission
INFO: www.tucsonconventioncenter.com
This article appears in Dec 28, 2023 – Jan 4, 2024.
