PERSON TO PERSON

Based on the model of the Bay Area’s Underground Farmers’ Market, the Denver Handmade Homemade Market, which hosts its third event tonight, is a prime example of people doing it themselves locally: Its premise — everyday folks sharing things they make, cook and grow, and networking in a grassroots setting — could well be as much a foundation for the future as it is a blast from the past.

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• Kylie Manson

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“Part of the whole spirit of it is that it’s not like a typical market. It’s more of an alternative model for a local economy where people choose their own value for a product” says organizer Kylie Manson. “We have such a big community in Denver that’s excited about urban homesteading.”

At today’s market, you’re likely to find homemade kombucha and kimchi, backyard produce, imaginative sock puppets, goat-milk cheese and yogurt, yarn spun from local wool, sourdough bread and more, all available only on a donation-only basis or through trading and bartering. But it’s really about more than the products. “People can come get some good produce, but they’re also there to socialize and meet each other,” Manson says. “What happens that is so special is often the things that are unplanned.” For instance, someone traded a head of lettuce for a haircut at a past market. “It’s all about the people,” she adds.

DHHM, which runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at Green Spaces Colorado, 1368 26th Street, is open to the public on a membership basis (you’re required to become a member at the door), and all of it, including the membership, is free. Get details at www.denverhhm.wordpress.com.
Fri., July 23, 6-9 p.m., 2010