FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Saturday, Aug. 19 was Panhellenic Bid Day at the University of Arkansas, and the festivities continued all weekend.
This year’s Bid Day marked the third annual Greek Market at local boutique, Presley Paige.
This is the first Greek Market in Presley Paige’s new store location just off North College Avenue in Fayetteville.
All day Saturday and Sunday, students could browse the boutique and small businesses selling Greek goods from T-shirts to home decor.
“It originally started as a parking lot market as a way for us to get involved with campus and to start building more relationships with the sororities at the University of Arkansas,” said store owner, Maggie Owens.
Since then, it’s become an annual tradition that brings crowds of students to the boutique.
“For us, this is like our Super Bowl,” Owens said.
It’s also a big weekend for businesses like custom sorority T-shirt company Emerson Coast, who partnered with Presley Paige for the market.
“It’s a great outreach deal to be able to get connected to the different chapters at Arkansas," Emerson Coast owner Justin Laughlin said.
Laughlin says his company’s goal is “to help people spread the message of the group they love through shirts,” and that’s what they’re doing at the market.
“They just get their bids, and they’re coming down here looking to buy something to support their group and represent the new group that they're a part of. It’s so much fun,” Laughlin said.
Owens and Laughlin both said this weekend brings exciting energy to their businesses.
“Actually, yesterday morning, a few of the members on our team drove down Maple Street,” Laughlin said. “They did this last year, too, but they say they like to feel the energy of Bid Day... it’s something that we really enjoy.”
Owens says plans are already in the works for next year’s event. She says she expects the market to continue to grow into a bigger event each year.
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