On July 28, around 55 makers arrived at the MSA Annex, ready to set up their tables for the monthly summer night market. It was hot, but that was expected.
Minutes later, the wind rolled in, followed by rain and coin-sized hail. Tents flew into the air, artwork hit the ground, vintage clothing became soaked and muddy, palo verde trees were downed. Artists were scrambling — trying to save their work, trying to find cover from the chunks of ice falling from the sky.
“We were all holding onto our tents for dear life,” says Marina Cordova, the maker behind Luna & Saya, known for her playful statement earrings. “I didn’t even have time to think other than to make sure my tent wouldn’t fly away so it wouldn’t hurt anyone,” she says.
Even though she had weights on the legs of her tent, it started to lift and eventually broke. Her displays hit the ground — as did her handmade earrings.
“As soon as the hail stopped, I ran back to my booth to see the damage,” she says. “That’s when I just started throwing stuff in my bins. I didn’t even care what it looked like because at that point, it was what it was.”
Widespread rain, wind and hail ripped through Tucson and surrounding areas July 28, leaving tens of thousands without power. Video courtesy of the University of Arizona.
Hannah McCarthy, who organizes markets for the Annex on Tucson's west side, was monitoring the weather, but it didn't matter. The storm looked like it would go in a different direction — but then it hit within a matter of minutes.
“When you realized it was coming, you only had a few moments to mentally prepare,” she says.
Amid the slowest season for makers, vendors weren’t able to sell that day. Some lost the products that they work so hard to create or curate. Some lost hundreds of dollars during the chaos, a couple lost thousands.
Come Sept. 29-30, the MSA Annex, 267 S. Avenida del Convento, will host a two-day market dubbed the Monsoon Mayhem Makeup Market to help compensate for July's loss. The August market was rained out, too.
“I just feel like — these are people who really rely on these markets to get through the slow summer months and to have all these markets rained out and on top of that have product damaged and so much loss, I feel like we need to have a market to make up for all of that,” McCarthy says.
“Having a market during monsoon season is always a risk,” she says. “I’ve done these markets now for the past three years. We had some rained out that were a little crazy scrambling, but I’ve never felt scared before. This one felt scary.”
McCarthy is hoping to have around 65 vendors at this month's two-day market, including many of the makers affected by the July storm. The September market will also feature a raffle with items donated by local makers. Money made from raffle tickets will be split among the affected makers. McCarthy has also set up a GoFundMe for the vendors impacted.
The market will also house a pop-up by Mini Bar, which will serve a monsoon-themed drink. Two DJs will spin music. The market runs 6-10 p.m. both days.
A palo verde tree is uprooted at the MSA Annex after a monsoon storm on July 28 brought strong gusts of wind and hail causing many trees and branches to break in the complex.
“I’ve done a lot of markets and I’ve never experienced a storm like that,” Cordova says. “I’ve been doing this since 2018 and I’ve done a ton of markets, so that was scary. When I got home, I felt really defeated.
“Setting up for that market, it was so hot that day. It was insane. I was taking my time with my setup — set up, take a five-minute break, set up, drink lots of water. Setting up is a lot of work and literally when I got everything right, less than 10 minutes later, everything’s on the ground.”
Most of Cordova’s earrings were safe, tucked into cellophane. Other pairs weren’t so lucky.
Crystal Wheeler, the maker behind Light of Mine Candle Supply, lost her tent — it was picked up by the wind and snapped into pieces. She lost her cart and other parts of her setup process. Luckily, her candles were unscathed.
“Everybody’s tents were ripped to shreds or the metal structures were completely bent out of shape. Product was destroyed or knocked over,” McCarthy says. “Me and security were running around making sure everybody was OK.”
“Every time I think about it, it just makes me want to cry,” McCarthy says. “I’m just so glad no one was hurt.”
Christa Lebron helps customers at her booth, Chez Peachy, during the Summer Night Market at the MSA Annex on June 30, 2023.
Through it all, Cordova says she tries to remain positive. If anything, the storm was proof of how tight-knit the maker community is.
Makers were checking on one another, returning to the market grounds after packing up to see if anyone needed anything. Annex staff — and strangers — helped vendors hold down tents, clean up the mess, haul items back to their cars.
“I’m honestly so thankful for the Tucson community and other vendors,” Wheeler says. “Everyone just hunkered down and helped each other. I had several staff members and shoppers help me gather my destroyed tent. Other vendors held down tents as the wind whipped. It was actually quite heartwarming.”
“I feel that when there is something — a challenge or a crisis or just some adversity — I do feel our community of makers come together to help each other,” Cordova says. “I’m so happy I’m able to be a part of that. I think it goes to show that when things get hard in our community, we try and help each other in the best way we can and I think that’s so important.”
