New Market Place Event Planner Named

Pictured: Castro Valley artist Ann Maloney-Mason and Market Place Event Planner Austin Walker

Twenty-three-year-old Hayward native Austin Walker is the new man in town at Castro Valley’s Market Place. Austin accepted the full-time position of Event Coordinator at the Market Place after recently graduating from Cal State East Bay.

Market Place manager Craig Semmelmeyer put him right to work developing his idea of a weekly Art Walk on the Paseo. In short order, Austin designed a logo, contacted local artists, and “set up shop.” Every Wednesday between 5-8 pm, different artists bring their work to the Paseo in the Market Place. Each artist has a 6-foot table on which to display their work. Austin reports that he has received very favorable comments from the artists. Castro Valley artist Ekaterina Bazlakova is so happy with her sales at the Art Walk that she has signed up four weeks in a row. For some, this is the first time that they have been able to sell their own work, rather than turning it over to a gallery. They all agreed that meeting their customers was the best part!

Austin is also in charge of the ongoing Maker’s Market on Saturdays between 10-3 pm. Olive +Finn clothing, Nakawe soap, and Stone Lumber Dirt, (hand crafted wood and concrete planters) are some of the pop-up vendors who set up shop for the day. Both the Art Walk artists and the Market Makers pay 15 percent to the Market Place for any goods sold. Austin welcomes new artists and artisans to the Market Place as he develops the reputation of the Market Place as a shopping destination for unusual gifts.

And finally, Austin oversees the leases of the conference spaces for 32-60 participants at the Market Place. He has leased out the spaces for birthday parties, conferences, and classes. Austin shared that the job is “a lot harder than he expected.” In his free time, he enjoys sports, music, and working out.