The East Side Business Improvement District is planning a Farmer's Market for the 2001 summer season. It would be the first Farmer's Market on the East Side in over 30 years.

An informal survey was sent out to gauge local residents' feelings about an east side market and asks questions about specific preferences: day, time, types of produce, specialty items, transportation to and from the market.

"The ideal location would be on E. Kenilworth between N. Oakland and N. Farwell," said Jim Plaisted, executive director of the East Side BID and the East Side Association. "Visibility is good and we think that would be the best place for it."

Response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive thus far, according to Plaisted, and the market appears to be almost a sure thing.

"Right now the biggest question is what day of the week to hold the market on," Plaisted said. "It's tough because Saturday is a busy day and there's not a lot of farmers out there that bring stuff in. There's a lot of support for Sunday but it's not popular with the farmers. They don't want to have to drive three hours two days in a row. A weekday isn't feasible because of the traffic problems it would create."

Currently it looks like Saturday will be chosen. The market will start sometime in mid-to-late June and run through October.

The East Side Association is holding a public meeting about the market at 2 p.m. on Thurs., March 15 at East Library, 1910 E. North Ave. Plaisted said that by then a decision should be made on what day of the week to hold the market and where it will be held.

In addition to the Farmer's Market, Plaisted said that there is discussion of adding events before and after the market.

"We're talking about having all-day events on North Ave. We'd like to have live music and get the local bars involved."

If you have any questions or concerns, stop by the public meeting. Surveys can be found at various location on the East Side. For more information, call the East Side Association at (414) 906-8975.