New Open Air Shopping Debuts; Republic Markets Slated For Next 12 Weeks

There is now new open-air shopping in Palm Desert and displaced vendors from the College of the Desert Street Fair and those from The Palm Springs Villagefest have joined forces to create a new shopping experience. NBC Palm Springs caught up with merchants who are looking forward to the opportunity of having 12 weeks of outdoor shopping on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. till June 13th. "As vendors, it’s fantastic because people going into Costco, obviously curiosity, they look over and they see us here so as far as foot traffic is concerned, it’s fantastic for us," explained Luis Gonzalez, The Cashmere Guy. Saturday marks day two of the republic markets event and vendors hope the momentum will pick up as the season continues. "Were prepared to start with 50 people, 50 merchants. and then if need be we can expand to 100 merchants. So it’s going to be open for a lot of more weeks, until June 13th," added Gonzalez. Others explaining how vendors from the COD Street Fair and the Palm Springs Villagefest integrated into one. "As a crew, I have to say the vendors that are here, we know that we have to take risks together and I think that is another good reminder, sometimes life has some risks and you just gotta take them and this is what we are doing right now," said Nicholas Uschyk, Operations Manager with E. & E. Pel’s. "We’ve been at the college of the desert since 2010, a lot of these merchants have been there over 20 years, so they recognize us and they know us," said Gonzalez. Coachella Valley is known for its fresh produce and farmer’s markets, but the Republic Markets is one of the view events where customers can buy commercial goods, and enjoy being outdoors. "We’re a small valley, were a hospitality valley, so it’s nice to see us out having fun smiling, even under these masks I can see the smiles on people, so it’s just nice to get back to a little bit of normal," said Uschyk. "It makes me feel alive again, just like a lot of our merchants here, they are just so happy to be out and about once again. we want to get back into the swing of things and hopefully, the state will relax their rules and regulations and we can get back to cod once again, and bring all the people together," explained Gonzalez.