Even for a Wacoan who’s been to Magnolia Market a dozen times, this weekend’s Spring at the Silos event will offer some unique opportunities to shop, eat and explore the Silos. As always, entry is free, but those attending may want to bring some extra cash for the 75 different vendors and food trucks attending the event.
The Spring at the Silos festivities will begin every morning at 7:30 a.m. from Thursday through Saturday with a free yoga class on the lawn.
For the rest of the day, visitors can take a guided tour of the Magnolia Market grounds. According to Magnolia’s website, the tour will include information about the Silos’ history and a behind-the-scenes look at the garden that isn’t offered any other time of year.
The largest component of the event will be the vendor fair from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Stalls will be set up along the streets surrounding the silos featuring 75 artisans from all over the country.
Examples of goods that will be available for purchase include yoga mats, personalized jewelry, raw honey and designer clothing. Wacoans may recognize local names like Roots and the Mix, but brands from many other cities and states will also be represented.
Brock Murphy, a spokesman for Magnolia Market, said a number of vendors from last year’s Silobration will be returning for this weekend’s event.
Murphy mentioned Alabama Sweet Tea in particular as a returning company to get excited about. Last fall, the food truck had such high demand they ran out of tea two days in a row.
Golson Foscee, co-owner of Alabama Sweet Tea, said Silobration was an “eye-opening” experience. He said he’s coming prepared this time with a refrigerated truck and doesn’t intend to run out again.
“We were just overwhelmed by the number of people and the popularity of Magnolia,” Foscee said. “We had a line that wrapped from our food truck to the street that was probably a hundred people deep.”
For other vendors, Spring at the Silos will be their company’s first trip to Texas. Corinne Fry-Rich, founder of Chantry 1975, said this weekend will be her candle company’s first big event outside California.
“When I got the email from Magnolia, I just looked at [my husband] and said, ‘We have to make this happen,’” Fry-Rich said. “So I poured about 400 candles in three days and we were off to the races.”
According to Murphy, Spring at the Silos is Magnolia Market’s first large-scale event outside of Silobration, which was held in the fall of 2015 and 2016.
Murphy said Magnolia’s event staff is anticipating crowd sizes similar to those at Silobration — around 30,000 visitors for the whole weekend. Although the silos will be more crowded than usual, Murphy said the huge number of vendors and activities to choose from should help reduce time spent waiting in line.
“When there are more things to do, there’s less concentration in any specific area, so it’s a better experience,” Murphy said.
The website of Austin-based vendor No. 4 St. James says they’re committed to “sharing the best of Texas with as many people, far and wide, who seek her.”
Vincent Friedewald, chief executive Texan of the store, said he’s excited to share the story his home state with tourists from around the country.
“It’s important to us to be a part of a big event like this and to be associated with the Magnolia brand,” Friedewald said.
Friedewald said he’s expecting Baylor students in particular to love their “bourbon bombs,” the signature chocolate cookie of No. 4 St. James.
For a full list of all vendors attending Spring at the Silos this weekend, visit https://magnoliamarket.com/spring-at-the-silos.
