‘Small business is big business’: Market 606 helps boost small businesses in Johnson County

PAINTSVILLE, Ky. (WYMT) - Market 606 kicked off in downtown Paintsville on Saturday and folks came in bunches to browse small businesses.

“Small business is big business in our communities and that’s no different here in Johnson County,” said Johnson County Judge-Executive Mark McKenzie. “We are a very pro-business organization as a government.”

The event was focused on giving small, local shops, brick-and-mortar or otherwise, a chance to get out and boost their business. This also allowed new businesses such as Lavender Springs Alpaca, an alpaca farm in Johnson County, an opportunity to meet new people.

“We’ve been looking for an event to kind of get our foot in the door in town and my husband saw this on Facebook, so he decided to sign me up,” said Lavender Springs Alpaca owner Ashlee Osoway. “We’ve met a lot of people, a lot of people are curious about our farm and didn’t really know where- that we were out there so this is a kind of eye-opening for them about what alpacas are and why we would have them.”

This also boosted the economy of the region as a whole as folks came into town to enjoy the weekend full of events such as Market 606 as well as the Johnson County Trail Day.

“It’s a total economic impact on the whole community when you have events like this to give people a reason to come to your community and that’s what we want to continue to do,” said Judge-Executive McKenzie.

Along with small businesses, Market 606 featured several food trucks, non-profit organizations, an ATV parade, live music, and giveaways.

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