A famers' market vendor's canopy and a commercial building on Broadway in Green Bay are damaged after a storm June 24, 2026. PC: Fox 11 Online
UPDATE 9:30 A.M. — On Broadway has decided to cancel the market on Wednesday, July 1.
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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Severe weather could impact the Farmer’s Market on Broadway for a second week in a row.
High winds, rain and hail blanketed the event last week.
Adriana Vander Leest owns Oak & Paw. She says the weather stacks up with the worst she’s seen.
“I actually lived through the hurricane in Florida when Hurricane Ian went through. I used to live in Cape Coral, and I’ve got to say that was horrible last week,” said Vander Leest.
Dana Hollatz owns A Design Journey and agreed. “It just was pretty traumatizing to witness too. It escalated very fast,” said Hollatz.
This week, heat poses the biggest risk.
Vendors have expressed concern about the market’s absence policy. Would a vendor be punished for missing a market due to severe weather, such as heat? In a statement, On Broadway President & CEO Brian Johnson said:
“All markets have an attendance policy to help protect the integrity of the event and to ensure empty spaces can be filled with other vendors. Additionally, vendors may not tear down early in the middle of an event to protect the safety of the public unless the event is cancelled. We do have an attendance policy that vendors agree to, but we are not heavy handed with cancellations as the result of severe weather. The policy contains boilerplate language about fines, but we have never fined a vendor for any reason, and we have communicated with vendors that all weather-related absences this year will not count against the policy which is typically reserved for habitual violators who have a disregard for rules,” said Johnson.
The Farmer’s Market on Broadway uses a software package that tracks vendor attendance which notes the reasons for an unexpected absence.
Johnson says if a vendor were to cancel due to heat or severe weather, they would not be penalized.
Vander Leest & Hollatz say even if they know severe weather is coming, the decision to cancel or not show up isn’t an easy one. For them, farmer’s markets make up a majority of their income.
“The farmer’s markets have become 90-plus percent of the revenue generated in ways that I make any income right now,” said Vander Leest. “When it is bad weather, I still show up because $100 is better than $0.”
“My full-time gig, so if something like this cancels, we’re out of our money,” said Hollatz.
The Wednesday farmer’s market on Broadway runs from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Leaders say they try to determine weather or not the market should be cancelled by 10 a.m. on the day of the market.
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