It has a festival atmosphere that includes live performers as well as art and crafts displays and sales, and also food booths and other local vendors.

It was located on city property adjacent to a city-owned parking structure in downtown Eugene.

Nevertheless, the market was successful enough that the Eugene City Council agreed to allow the hippies to continue using the site.

The first season closed on the Saturday before Christmas with about one hundred vendors crowding into the market area.

[15] Over time, the Saturday markets held in the parking structure lost their customer base.

As the number of vendors dwindled, the Saturday Market board of directors began working with the City of Eugene and Lane County officials to find a new venue.

In April 1983, the Eugene Saturday Market was relocated to a two-block park area at the intersection of Oak Street and 8th Avenue.

The plan included the Saturday Market as an important element in the area's long-term development.

The concept was to offer an open-air venue for local growers to market their produce directly to the public.

Based on the task force's recommendation, the county approved the first farmers market in August 1979.

On the weekend before Thanksgiving, the market moves to the Lane County Fairgrounds where it is held indoors through Christmas Eve.

Every year, shoppers buy approximately $2.5 million worth of handcrafts and food from Saturday Market vendors.

In addition, all of the products for sale at the market must be sold by the person who made them or a member of their immediate family.

[23] The market offers a wide variety of handcrafted goods including artwork, jewelry, clothing, and craft furniture.

[8][17][19] The Eugene Saturday Market won local recognition as Lane County's first-best place for a family outing in The Register-Guard's Readers' Choice awards in 2010.

In addition, a budget committee works with the board of directors to ensure the organization remain financially healthy.