CITY OF KATY, Texas (Covering Katy News) — The City of Katy plans to replace Katy Market Days with six new downtown events in 2025 called The Katy Exchange.
Katy Market Days, a monthly market which has drawn shoppers downtown for 30 years, was operated by local businesswoman Betsy Proctor. Her festival ran 10 Saturdays annually to boost downtown commerce and sales tax revenue for the city.
The City of Katy says the new Katy Exchange will feature local artists, vendors and craft makers in the city's historic downtown square while promoting local businesses. However, Proctor says Katy Market Days accomplished similar goals, and she did it at no cost to the city.
Kaci Maris, the city's tourism and marketing event coordinator, said the plan requires Katy City Council approval at its Jan. 13 meeting. The events are planned for March, April, May, August, November and December.
The city won't hold events during June, July, September or October, months when Market Days did operate. However, the annual Katy Rice Harvest Festival takes place in downtown Katy in October, so there will be one city sponsored event that month.
If approved by council, these events would occur on the third Saturday of designated months, following the same schedule as previous Katy Market Days and Rice Harvest Festival events.
Maris said the city will organize and execute the events with support from the parks and recreation department.
"We are so excited to offer a platform that not only promotes our historic town square but also engages with local businesses, history, and charitable organizations that contribute to our community," Mayor Dusty Thiele said in a statement. "With 2025 being a year full of exciting developments, including the final projects of our downtown revitalization, we're looking forward to the enhanced experiences that will make our historic downtown square the heart of Katy."
The Mayor has declined Covering Katy's offer to be interviewed about the city's decision to end Proctor's operation of Katy Market Days, in favor of hiring a paid staffer to help run the new event. According to the city website, the employee will have a salary between $43,000 and $54,000. Mayor Pro Tem Chris Harris says that person will also handle other responsibilities.
Despite the cost of running the new events, the city says it won't keep any of the money to reimburse the cost of running the event.
"Each event will feature a spotlight on select local nonprofits, with all proceeds benefiting the designated charities," the city's press release says.
The March event will benefit Katy VFW 9182 and Camp Hope's PTSD Foundation of America, which will split the proceeds. Maris said members of the military will also be honored at each event.
Proctor also has a record of donating to charitable organizations. In 2024, $5,000 was given to Katy Christian Ministries, and $1,000 each to Katy Heritage Society and Relay for Life, according to Proctor.
Betsy Proctor
Katy Businesswoman Betsy proctor (right) with her husband Harriy (left) holds a $5,000 check from Katy Market Days that was donated to Katy Christian Ministries in 2024.
The end of Katy Market Days came with little public input but involved numerous closed-door meetings hosted by Mayor Thiele and City Administrator Byron Hebert who had individual meetings with each member of city council in what appears to be an effort to get around the open meetings act requiring such discussion to be held in public. Since these meetings in total equal a quorum of city council members, Houston attorney James Fallon says they should have been posted and the public should have been allowed to attend. Additional details are provided in this story:
Katy Market Days: Mayor's Closed Door Meetings May be Criminal
The city will launch official City of Katy Historic Town Square Facebook and Instagram pages to promote the square's history, businesses and events, including the Rice Harvest Festival.
Maris said the city aims to enhance these and other events planned for 2025. She noted that the city won awards for its 2024 events and hopes to receive more recognition in 2025.
"We're making sure to bring attention to Downtown Katy," Maris said. "That's our job."
Also Read: Hidden From Public view: The Quiet End of Katy Market Days