CALPINE – The 12th annual Calpine Marketplace was held this past Saturday, September 10th, in Calpine Park by the Calpine Improvement Association. As with previous marketplaces, this annual event was a boost to local and regional artisans and the sense of community in the tiny hamlet of Calpine.

This year, 33 booths were reserved by vendors at the Calpine Park, with some vendors reserving multiple booths to increase their display area. Some of the region’s finest artisans and crafts workers were out selling their wares Saturday, including the ever-popular Marjorie Voorhees of the Sattley Cash Store’s Country Class Collectibles and Karen Rickman’s A Bit of Beach. Local farmers also brought their goods to the market, with You Bet Farms of North San Juan, Sweeting Ranch of C-Road and Calpine’s own Sierra Valley Yaks all enjoying good turnout. Local organizations also had informational booths at the market, ranging from Treasure Mountain 4-H Club to the Sierra County Democratic Party.

The raffle is always one of the most popular parts of the annual Marketplace, with all proceeds going towards the Calpine Improvement Association’s annual scholarship for graduating teens from the Calpine area. This year over two dozen items were donated to the raffle by local individuals, businesses and organizations. The whole thing was, as ever, emceed by local vocalizer Russell Rosewood, whose bombastic voice makes the raffle announcements very hard to miss!

Turnout for the Classic Car Show was much lower than usual, with less than half a dozen entrants lining up on County Road across from the Calpine Post Office. This may be explained by the Big City Rod Run happening the same day in Sierra City. Catering for the event at the Snack Shack was not held by the Association this year, but rather was done by Cassandra Martinetti of the Fork and Horn. Your intrepid correspondent ordered a Philadelphia cheesesteak from this outlet, and the tasty results were entirely worth the wait.

The event was dampened around 2:00 PM by the arrival of thick clouds of noxious smoke from the Mosquito Fire in Placer County, but overall the event was massively successful. Several vendors have already reserved spaces for the 2023 Calpine Marketplace, which will be held on September 9th. You can be assured that we at the Mountain Messenger will be there to cover it.