International Market Day Launches July 3 at Pittsburgh Public Market; Features Global Arts, Crafts, Food & Music

Arts, crafts and performances from around the world will be on display and on sale the first Sunday of every month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. starting July 3, 2011 at the Pittsburgh Public Market as part of International Market Day, a community program of CEED, a non-profit organization, in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Public Market (PPM). Admission is free.

International Market Day will feature arts and crafts created by international vendors now living in the Pittsburgh region, in addition to live performances for the whole family, according to Rufus Idris, executive director of CEED, a community development group based in Highland Park.

“This opening event on the 4th of July holiday weekend will be a great way to celebrate the diversity of American culture,” Idris said. “We will feature vendors from Africa and Asia offering hand-made crafts, textiles, food, jewelry and original works of art. Many of these items are unique and not available anywhere else in the Pittsburgh region.”

International Market Day also will include performances by music and dance groups, and will vary from month to month, Idris said.

CEED creates opportunities for economic success and community growth in Southwestern Pennsylvania with small business startup support & housing solutions for immigrant, refugee and inner city populations. CEED’s participation in the International Market Day program is made possible in part by a generous grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation.

Several of the international participants are clients of CEED’s Skills to Wealth program, which addresses the challenges faced by start-up and existing underserved and disadvantaged entrepreneurs by providing pragmatic technical assistance to immigrant-owned, refugee-owned, minority-owned and veteran-owned microenterprises in the Pittsburgh region.

The international vendors will compliment existing PPM booths and vendors, many of whom represent a wide variety of countries and regional ethnicities, according to Cindy Cassell, spokesperson for the Pittsburgh Public Market.

“The International Market Day vendors will set up along the wall on one side, and the live performances will take place in the program area on the other side, so it will really tie everything together,” she said. “We think it will be a wonderful addition to the Market.”

The Pittsburgh Public Market was created in 2010 by Neighbors in the Strip to provide a year-round, indoor venue for local small businesses and farmers, promoting the growth of new businesses and featuring the best of what the region has to offer. It is located on Smallman Street in the Strip District between 16th and 17th street intersections.

Neighbors in the Strip (NITS) is a non-profit organization established in 1999 to promote economic development opportunities while preserving the personality, integrity and character of the Strip District of Pittsburgh. Members include businesses, residents, non-profits, and art/cultural organizations located and/or doing business in and around the Strip.

For information about CEED, go to www.usaceed.org. For information about the Pittsburgh Public Market, go to www.pittsburghpublicmarket.org. For information about Neighbors in the Strip, go to www.neighborsinthestrip.com.