Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MARKET ROLL CALL
Watching Pike Place's daily market roll call, rung in by an old- fashioned hand bell
promptly at 9am (10am on Sunday), is like watching a boisterous rural cattle auc-
tion conducted in an indecipherable foreign language. The purpose of roll call is to
allocate where the market's temporary craft-sellers will set up on any particular day.
As Pike Place has over 200 registered vendors but only 130 available trading
spots, each day is a nail-biting lottery. Not everyone gets lucky, but by 9:30am clip-
boards have been signed, a large whiteboard has been filled out, and people are
industriously going about their business. Roll call is held at the north end of the
North Arcade and is a great way to imbibe the true spirit of the market and its work-
ings. Anyone can watch. Just don't be late!
Pike Place is home to approximately 350 people, who are supported by a
proper neighborhood infrastructure that includes a clinic, a senior center, a
preschool, childcare facilities and a food bank.
