By Robert Williams, Editor

Organizer Kelsey Varty was looking for something creative to do early in the Vergas events calendar. After a big response from social media to her initial idea she created the Before the Bloom Vendor Market.

“Lakes country may be quiet in winter, but Before the Bloom, everything begins to awaken,” is the event’s tagline.

“People were really receptive to that and of course, that’s definitely on the selling side; you have to have buyers too,” said Varty. “People are really motivated to get out and I think it is a good time of the year between winter and the summer busyness and trying to find a time where there isn’t an overlap of a big, established event.”

The market has a current lineup of 24 makers and small businesses coming together to offer variety, unique finds, and a reason to get out and enjoy something special.

The market itself will be special for Varty as she is running her first.

“I’ve never run an event before; I like to think I’m ultra organized and a good idea generator so that part felt natural,” Varty said. “All the vendors have been really good. They booked up right away and I have a huge wait list of people that wanted in afterward. I tried getting a second location in town but did not want to overdo it.”
Varty has been a rural Vergas resident since 2014. She owns the old Dora Town Hall and that is where her side business, Blue Jay & Birch is located. Her business is as new as the market idea having been created in November of 2025.

“It’s essentially a mobile gift shop,” Varty said.

Kelsey sells written works, handmade goods, custom laser engraving, and thoughtfully sourced pieces meant to be kept, gifted, and felt. 

She and her husband are discussing putting a small gift shop up at their home joining the many artisan businesses hidden around rural Vergas. She also sells her products at Prairiegrass in downtown Perham.

“I’ve been wanting to start my own business for a long time and Blue Jay & Birch is like an umbrella I can do anything I want underneath,” Varty said.

Creating Before the Bloom was a way to not only market her own works but create a market for others to sell and a new outlet for interested buyers and shoppers. It was also a way to tap into the popularity of being on the Vergas event list.

“With that creative outlet and wanting to find a place to sell, like these vendor markets, and seeing there is a need for one and a need to generate some traffic in a small town, why not create an event to do that?” she said. “I have treated that fairly. I am a vendor there like everybody else, but I think it’s going to be good. I’m excited about it.”

Varty is also utilizing the event to help promote existing Vergas businesses by hiding gift cards for customers to locate while shopping at Before the Bloom.

“Maybe it will entice people to spend money that day or at least come back to spend money in the community,” said Varty. 

One cannot create a successful event in Vergas without the help of the Community Club and that was the case for Varty as she went through the setup process.

“They’ve been very supportive,” she said.

As her first foray into a Vergas event, Varty was highly conscious of wanting it to help support existing Vergas businesses and not take away from them. She even contacted local businesses to explain her desire was to bring a crowd to Vergas and benefit the community.

“The City of Vergas has been amazing, renting from the city, Rachel Nustad has been amazing,” said Varty.

A full list of confirmed vendors can be found on the Before the Bloom Vendor Market Facebook page, under the discussion tab. Varty’s plan was to showcase individual products and avoid overlap.

“My intention for the market was to have individual products; if there was any vendor that I pulled out right now I could tell you what was unique to them,” she said. “It is a nice lineup and a carefully-selected and curated event to ensure that there isn’t a whole lot of crossover.”

The Before the Bloom Vendor Market at the Event Center will be open 9 a.m.-3 p.m., on Saturday, March 7.