Blue Mountain Station Hosts 4th Annual FoodStock

DAYTON – This past Saturday saw Dayton's Blue Mountain Station play host to 20 vendors during its fourth annual FoodStock event.

The event, which was originally held the same weekend as the famous Woodstock event, was moved after a conflict with a concert in Walla Walla two years ago. The day-long food, beverage, and craft festivities are now held on the same weekend as Dayton High School's Alumni Weekend, to give alumni and families another source for entertainment while in town, said Brad McMasters, economic development coordinator for the Port of Columbia.

This year, the BMS had 20 vendors showcasing their talents and giving the public a chance to purchase their products. These vendors ranged in type from various ethnic food sellers to jewelry, bags, face painting, garden art and more.

The facility was busy, as visitors sampled local food, heard live music and purchased products from vendors. While it is too early to determine the event as successful or not, McMasters said that the day does see a good amount of business for certain storefronts.

"We do know that it is one of the largest sales days for the co-op market and for our tenants. Our parking lot fills and vendors return," McMasters said.

"We are already evaluating what went right and what were opportunities for improvement," he added. "This year we will try to determine if we want the event to grow and the reality of whether the event can grow with our limited budget and resources, our location and the size of our community.

"Another thing we have to take into consideration this year is how the food park will evolve. There is a new building under development and we are not certain what type of tenants they will house. Though the focus is food and beverage processing, retail is an option for them. The new building was designed with high ceilings and overhead doors to easily house craft beer, cider and wine producers."

More information on the Port of Columbia, who is the group in charge of the Blue Mountain Station, can be found at their website, at portofcolumbia.org.