HIGH POINT – The bustling workers that carry cardboard boxes up and down Main Street and the moving trucks that line the sidewalks are a clear sign of only one thing: the beginning of the fall High Point Market.

Continuing its 100th anniversary celebration this year, the market will run Oct. 17-22, the second time in its history it has opened on a Saturday.

As showrooms begin to fill up with the latest furniture trends for the fall season, market officials are hoping that recent economic indicators signifying the end of a downturn will allow for a successful market.

“We ended up with a pretty decent market in April despite bad economic conditions,” said Brian Casey, president of the High Point Market Authority. “I’ve got my hopes up that we’re going to see an even better market in October.”

The U.S. Census Bureau reported a 2.7 percent increase in retail and food sales for August, giving officials hope that the retail industry could be climbing out of its summer slump.

“The whole mood of the country is more optimistic than it has been for the last couple of markets,” said Lisa Shankle, market veteran and property manager for Hamilton Properties. “There is a much more positive attitude with people and a lot less doom and gloom that everyone has been seeing at previous markets.”

Casey said it was too soon to predict attendance numbers for the event, but he said the authority had been hearing from many retailers who had not attended the furniture market several years who are “hungry for new products.”

The annual “Stars Under the Stars” event will kick off the fall market on Saturday night. A Centennial Celebration for the market will be held Sunday night, open to all marketgoers. Gavin DeGraw will headline the event, and the North Carolina A&T State University Blue and Gold Marching Machine will march through the streets that evening.

“We all know how important this event is to the city,” Casey added. “Anything we can do to welcome market guests is good for all of us.”

phaynes@hpe.com | 888-3617