Hanford Thursday Market July dates canceled due to heat

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- For a third week in a row.. The Thursday Hanford Market had to cancel their weekly event due to heat.

The market brings between 5,000 to 10,000 people each week and about 100 Central Valley vendors.

But the month of July, which has seen 3 cancellations and one planned closure on July 4th, has been too hot to keep the market open for its visitors, employees and volunteers.

"To keep them safe is our highest priority. We don't want to see anyone suffering from heat stroke or heat related illness," says Michelle Brown, the Executive Director of Main Street Hanford.

The non-profit follows a strict policy. If the forecasted high is 106 or higher the market is canceled 48 hours in advance.

The rules were implemented in 2017, after a few emergencies.

"We did have some people at the market suffer from heat stroke and had to leave in an ambulance and at that time we decided it was best to create a policy for safety that involved canceling due to hot weather," Michelle mentions.

But for some the market is their livelihood.

Brad Ryland is a vendor.

He and his wife own JoJo's Grill-A-Dog in Visalia.

And although he has a store front, they are feeling the hit from the recent closures.

"It impacts us a lot because right now is our slow period and during our slow period is when we do pop ups to make up the money that we are losing here at the restaurant," said Brad.

He says he is missing out on $1,000 to $2,000 for each canceled market.

However, Brad understands the reasons behind the closures and dangers of heat, as he knows first hand how hot vendor tents get, especially those making food.

"I come over to my fryer at the market and I'm doing this and I got a fryer at 350 degrees and do both of those. Turning around, handing them to the employees while they sit there and build the dogs could add a lot of heat," Brad explained.

In the meantime, people can support vendors through online platforms, going to their storefronts or other markets they may be at.

For a list of vendors click here.

Hanford's Thursday Night Market is expected to be back up and running by next week.

Market hours are from 5:30 PM to 9 PM.

They will celebrate their "Navy Appreciation Week" and anyone with a military I.D. can get discounted drinks from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm.

For more information on the market click here.

The live entertainment schedule can be found here.

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