09/01/2026
To Our Wild-O-Market Space Vendors, Residents, and Community Supporters,
It is with a very broken heart that I share the difficult decision to cancel the 2026 fall and winter Wild-O-Market events.
This was not a decision I made lightly. In fact, it has been one of the hardest decisions I have had to make since beginning this market just over one year ago.
When I started the Wild-O-Market, I did so with so much hope for our city and our small businesses. I recognized that Wildomar does not have a downtown, a historic district, a large shopping center, or many regular community gathering places where residents can come together, shop local, enjoy food and music, support small businesses, and build a stronger sense of connection. We have some great coffee shops and that's about it.
I believed deeply that Wildomar needed and wanted something like this community market.
I still believe that.
I started this market because I saw a need, and because there were conversations with city leaders and staff that gave me reason to believe there was desire and support for a community market in Wildomar. I believed that if I did the work to build it, the community and the city and community would rally behind it.
Over this past year, I have poured my heart, time, energy, and personal resources into trying to make the Wild-O-Market successful. I founded a nonprofit to support the effort. I have never paid myself, and I have not been reimbursed for the time or expenses it has taken to bring these events to life. I have kept vendor fees as low as possible because I know how hard it is for small businesses, home-based makers, food vendors, artisans, and entrepreneurs to afford opportunities to get in front of the public. But to be clear this decision is not even remotely motivated by me not getting paid money. But rather, I cannot in good faith continue to take vendor fees for an event that does not yield support back to my vendors.
Every decision I have made has been with the vendors and the community in mind.
I have promoted the market heavily through social media, paid advertising, vendor features, event listings, signs, outreach, and even paid sign twirlers to stand in the heat in an effort to bring traffic into the market. I have repeatedly asked for practical support from the City of Wildomar, including in-kind support such as signacades to help direct traffic and increase visibility. I have asked for partnership and visibility. Unfortunately, those requests were not met with the level of support needed to help this market succeed.
Every single market I have faced incredible hurdles and carried too much weight for my heart to bare.
The hardest part of this decision is knowing how much our vendors have given. They have paid registration fees, prepared their products, loaded their vehicles, given up their Sundays, set up in the heat, and showed up with hope. When attendance was low and sales were disappointing, I carried that deeply. I have felt a tremendous amount of guilt asking vendors to continue investing in a market when I could not promise them the community turnout they deserved.
That is not fair to them.
And it is no longer sustainable under the present model and mode of operation.
For that reason, I have made the difficult decision to cancel the remaining fall and winter markets. I am taking this time to regroup, listen, evaluate and explore options going forward.
But I want to be very clear: I am not giving up on the vision.
I still believe Wildomar deserves a community market. I still believe our small businesses deserve a place to be seen and supported. I still believe our residents would benefit from a consistent local gathering space. I still believe the Wild-O-Market can become something beautiful for this city.
But it cannot be carried by one person alone.
If the Wild-O-Market is going to return for the 2027 season, it will need real support. It will need residents to attend and bring their families. It will need local businesses to share, sponsor, and promote it. It will need community leaders to speak up. And it will need the City of Wildomar to recognize that events like this require more than verbal encouragement. They require practical, visible, and ongoing support.
To my amazing vendors: You have been such a gift to my heart Meeting you all, learning your stories and dreams has changed me. Please know how deeply grateful I am for every one of you who took a chance on this market. You brought talent, creativity, hard work, and heart to every event. I am sorry that I could not deliver the attendance and sales you deserved. I truly did everything I knew how to do, and I hope you know that this decision comes from a place of responsibility, not abandonment.
To the residents who did attend, shared posts, encouraged us, brought your families, supported vendors, and believed in this effort: thank you. Your support meant more than you know. You are the reason I still believe this market has a future.
To anyone who wants to see the Wild-O-Market return, I am asking you to speak up.
Please contact the City of Wildomar. Attend a city council meeting or coffee with the city. Email city leadership. Ask your district representative what they did to help the Wild-O-Market. Get out and vote this November for people who actually support Wildomar small business. Let them know that you believe Wildomar needs community events, small business opportunities, and gathering spaces that bring residents together. Let them know that the Wild-O-Market matters and that it deserves city support.
If real support is pledged, the Wild-O-Market will return for the 2027 season.
I am leaving the door open with hope.
This is not the ending to 2026 any of us wanted for the Wild-O-Market. But I believe stepping back now to pause is the most honest and responsible thing I can do until the support exists and the rally is made to make this market sustainable, fair to vendors, and successful for the community.
Thank you to everyone who believed in this vision, stood beside me, and helped bring the Wild-O-Market Space to life over this past year.
With love, gratitude, sadness, and hope for what may still be possible.
Darla Dunn
Founder/Organizer
Wild-O-Market Space Events
