2024 Riverfront Town Square
The Riverfront Town Square is a pedestrian-oriented project located in the heart of Downtown Whitehorse. Starting on July 1 to September 1, 2024, every Tuesday and Saturday, the riverfront and wharf will transform into a vibrant hub for people to eat, drink, socialize and shop. This area will be programmed for a market, concerts (Tuesdays) and artist workshops (Saturdays) to activate the waterfront and draw people towards the Downtown core.
The unique combination of pop-up vendors, food trucks, live music and artist workshops will make it an exciting destination for both locals and visitors alike. More importantly, this project intends to not only support local small businesses and food vendors, but also increase foot traffic to the riverfront to boost business in the surrounding areas.
This application is for both retail businesses and non-profit organizations (NPOs). There will be up to 24 vending spots for 10 x 10 tents and 2 spots for mobile food vendors within the Town Square per market. The intake for vendor applications is open from June 14, 2024. We will keep registration open for market vendor spots (tent and table) until all spots are filled.
Pop-up Vendors and NPOs must sign up for the dates of their choice at the Riverfront Town Square market; they will be registered on a first come, first serve basis. Staff will try to coordinate and accommodate vendor preferences within the number of spots available. If vendors are not successful in securing a spot, they may be added to a stand-by list, and take the spot in the event that the original vendor can no longer attend a specific time slot.
Mobile Food Vendors requiring a food truck spot will be placed in a separate registration list. Food trucks signing up for the market will be allocated an equal number of market days to allow each of them to take part in the initiative.
All vendors must follow these general rules for Mobile Retail Vendors (adopted from the Lease Encroachment and Property Use Policy, 2022):
- The market is open to businesses and non-profit organizations, except organizations advocating for political or religious purposes.
- Vending units shall not block doorways, display windows, or impede pedestrian or vehicular access.
- All accessories, including but not limited to tables, racks, displays and signs, shall be contained within the permit area.
- Vendors must keep their vending area in a clean and tidy condition at all times. Garbage and recyclables must be sorted and disposed of at the closing of each market.
- The business holding the permit is responsible for the proper maintenance of all placed structures, including repairs, painting, cleaning and hazard mitigation. No third-party signage is permitted, except upon pre-printed umbrellas.
- All signage shall be in compliance with Section 8 of Zoning Bylaw 2012-20 available at the following link: https://www.whitehorse.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/2012-20-Zoning-Bylaw-2012-20.pdf
- Vending units shall be of good quality and aesthetically pleasing in appearance. They shall not have any lights, sounds, or actions, which could be a distraction for motorists and/or pedestrians.
- Vendors are responsible for providing tents, tables, and adequate shelter for their booth.
- Electricity will be available for a limited number of market vendors. There will be two mobile food vendors (trucks and/or trailers) sites with electricity dedicated to sell food to be eaten on-site or that needs to be kept refrigerated or frozen, as well as other sites dedicated to 10×10 tents that will have power available.
- Vendors will sign up for the market days of their choice, and a layout of the allocated vending sites will be prepared for each market.
- Vendors must stay for the entire duration of their assigned time slot (4 hours). If a vendor can no longer operate at their awarded time slot, they shall notify the Economic Development Staff as soon as possible so the spot can be made available to another vendor.
- There shall be no permanent modifications made to the permit area. The City shall repair any damage to the sidewalk or other public structures or infrastructure resulting from the use of the permit area and the vendor will pay all costs of repair.
- A vendor shall not assign or sublease their spot to any other party. At no time shall the vendor charge or rent their stall to another vendor for a fee.
- Vendors have one hour before every Tuesday market dedicated for the set-up (to accommodate the trolley that will finish operating at 3 pm) and 1 1/2 hours for tear down of their vending station, and two hours for setting up on Saturdays, and 1 ½ hour for tearing down. The setup and tear down periods will be separated into two time slots to ease traffic congestion before and after market times. A schedule will be provided for each market to inform participating vendors of which time slot they are to arrive in.
- Vendors will be able to temporarily park their vehicles beside the Town Square for unloading and set up. Vendor vehicles must park at designated points (tour bus loading zone beside the White Pass building and on the cement plaza in front of MacBride Museum). City staff will be available to tend the booth while vendors park their vehicles. Once set up, Vendors are recommended to park in the municipal lot outside the Whitehorse Public Library and NOT in the peripheries of Riverfront Town Square due to limited parking space in the Downtown core. If vendors have accessibility needs, they can park closer to the market area.
- Portable washrooms are available to vendors and visitors of the market located at the intersection of Front Street and Steele Street.
All applicants are required to submit an application package which includes:
- A completed vendor application form
- Proof of relevant licenses and permits (ie. business license, inspection from Health and Social Services if selling food)
- Proof of minimum $3,000,000 liability insurance – if the vendor wishes to get event insurance specifically for the dates they will be participating in the market, they will have until June 28 to send proof of their insurance.
- Photograph of the vending unit.
The application must include all of the components listed above.
Once a completed application package has been submitted, applicants will receive an email confirming the receipt of their application within one business day. Staff will then process the applications and distribute vendor sites accordingly. Available spots are filled up on a first-come, first-served basis. If there are more applicants than spots available for certain market days, later applicants will not be awarded that market day. However, they can choose to be placed on a standby list to which they will be awarded a vending spot in the case that the original vendor cannot attend. Staff will inform successful applicants of their allocated vending spots by June 25, 2024. The final market schedule will be shared on the City of Whitehorse Riverfront Town Square webpage on June 28, 2024.