Dennis Moffatt is in his 49th year managing The Market at Red Deer. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

opening day

The Market at Red Deer opens for 49th year

May 18, 2019 | 1:35 PM

Opening day for the 49th year of The Market at Red Deer was a fruitful one, judging by the lack of available nearby parking.

This year, the market is back at its long-time downtown for the first time since 2015. It spent the last three years at the Memorial Centre while the Red Deer Arena was torn down and replaced with the Servus Arena.

“It’s glorious to be back. Everybody’s happy,” says Manager Dennis Moffat. “We’ve had a few glitches which we’ll iron out. Every time we do something new, we’ve got learn something new. It takes an old bugger to learn new things in a slow way.”

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Moffat says vendors are adjusting to new regulations around food trucks he says are stringent.

Nonetheless, organizers and vendors are committed to making the market the best it can be.

“We only operate really, over the season, 88 hours, and in that 88 hours, we generate more than $7.5 million of business,” he notes. “That’s amazing to me. These folks work hard. For some of them, it’s their living. I just love them; they’re like my family.”

Moffatt says he intends to manage the market in 2020 for his 50^th and final year.

“My son and daughter will carry on the work. After that, I can carry on into the sunset.”

The Market at Red Deer runs every Saturday from 8-12:30 until the Thanksgiving long weekend (Oct. 12).