L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano S eattle's Pike Place Market is a must-see tourist sight and one of the oldest continuously operated public farm- ers market in the nation. Its roots go back to 1907 when a handful of farmers, many of whom were Italian, trucked their produce into town and began selling it off their wagons and carts. They sold out within hours. Within a week, there were 70 wagons parked along Pike Place, each filled to overflowing with fresh farm produce. When the first building at the market opened later that year, Japanese farmers operated about 75 percent of the stalls; the Ital- ians ran virtually all the rest. For the next several decades, Italian immigrant Giuseppe "Joe" DeSi- mone, a truck farmer and shrewd property investor, went from sell- ing his produce at the market to becoming its president and majority stockholder. In 1974, DeSimone's family sold the property to the city. The family's connection is honored today with the DeSimone Bridge at Pike Place Market. Into that rich Italian history steps Mary Bacarella, who just ten months ago was named exec- utive director of the Pike Place Market Preservation and Devel- opment Authority (PDA), a pub- lic agency responsible for the operation, management, preser- vation and development of the 9- acre public market. As part of her new position, Bacarella oversees some 250 vendors, 225 artists and crafts- people, 100 farmers and 500 senior, low-income or disabled residents. Added to that mix is a variety of social services admin- istered by the PDA, including a medical clinic, preschool, food bank and senior services. It's like being the mayor of a small city, Bacarella said. It's an astounding undertaking but one that Bacarella accepts with aplomb, clear in her under- standing of her role as steward and aware of the importance of the market in today's rapidly changing Seattle. "Every time I walk through Pike Place Market, it is with a sense of gratitude," Bacarella said. "I'm grateful for the citi- zens of the 1970s who saved the market from developers. I'm grateful to all the people who work here, day in and day out, generation after generation. And I'm grateful for what the market offers to our city and our com- munity." RITA CIPALLA Mary Bacarella: The "mayor" of Pike Place Market marketing plans," Bacarella said. "During one of those meetings, I came up with the idea of creating a permanent space to feature Chihuly's art." In May 2012, Chihuly Garden and Glass opened with eight galleries, café, theater and a lush outdoor gar- den, and it consistently tops Tri- pAdvisor's list of things to do in Seattle. From the Space Needle, Bacarella went on to become managing director of the Seattle International Film Festival. "SIFF was a great way to blend several past jobs," she said. "The Space Needle was a big sponsor of SIFF so I knew a lot of people there. Plus, many years ago, I worked in public radio as a free- lancer, doing segments on what to do for the weekend. Those experiences came in handy at SIFF." Today, Pike Place Market welcomes 15 million visitors a year, and Bacarella wants to make sure a large percentage of those are local residents. "The market recently updated its infra- structure, building by building," said Bacarella. "We're now at an amazing place but the city con- tinues to change and grow. We want to be sure we are meeting the needs of our residents and engaging the community." With Mary Bacarella at the helm, it's likely that Pike Place Market is well-positioned to meet those future challenges and more. Bacarella was born in Mon- roe, Mich., just outside Detroit. Her grandparents emigrated from Sicily in the early 1900s and found a large Italian com- munity there. "Growing up, my life was all about family," said Bacarella. "It was all-consuming but in a lovely way." Both grandfathers worked in nurseries and her father had a home garden, yet every summer, the family would supplement their homegrown produce with a trip to a farm to pick tomatoes. "We'd pick bushels of tomatoes for my mother to can," she said. "She'd make enough sauce for the entire season. Of course, we could never just buy our toma- toes from the stand; we had to go out and pick our own." Bacarella moved to Seattle after graduating from college in the early 1980s, following in the footsteps of a boyfriend who later became her life partner. From that beginning, her career path followed a trajectory that included positions at some of Seattle's most iconic landmarks and cultural organizations. In the 1990s, Bacarella worked for the public relations firm Golin-Harris where she handled the Nintendo account. To create a media buzz when new products were launched, Bacarella would take to the road, visiting 20 cities in two months. "I'd travel in a truck that looked like a moving van but inside it was set up more like a den, with TVs and couches," she said. "We'd invite the media in to play the new games." A lifelong baseball fan, Bacarella was thrilled when Nin- tendo, part-owner of the Seattle Mariners, developed a Ken Grif- fey Jr. video baseball game. "I got to visit the spring training camps two years in a row," she said. Bacarella next worked for the Space Needle, starting as public relations manager and ending up as vice-president of brand man- agement. During her 15-year tenure, she oversaw marketing and operations for the Space Needle's 50th anniversary and played a key role in a $24 mil- lion remodel. She also had a hand in bringing glass artist Dale Chihuly to Seattle Center. "Our management was very open to new ideas so we were always coming up with creative SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY Mary Bacarella oversees management and operations of the 111-year-old Pike Place Market, one of the oldest continuously operated farmers markets in the country. (Barbie Hull Photography) No matter what hour of the day, Pike Place Market is always bustling with activity. (Barbie Hull Photography)

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