Some Saturdays Are Just Good

Some Saturdays Are Just Good

I didn't plan to have a good weekend. I just did.

Saturday, April 4th. Taft's outdoor market opened back up after the winter months and honestly I didn't know how much I'd missed it until we were there. My boyfriend Hyon and I walked the whole thing — handmade jewelry, baked goods, 3D printed everything, food that smelled like someone's grandmother made it. The kind of market where you stop at every table because the person behind it made the thing with their hands and that matters.

There was an Easter egg hunt happening for the kids. Chaos. The good kind.

We talked to the pastor of a Baptist church we've been considering. Good conversation. The kind where you leave feeling like maybe community is possible after all.

And I talked to the Taft Chamber of Commerce about getting a table at a future market. Selling books. Meeting neighbors. Showing up as something other than just a name on a cover.

I'm also planning to talk to the local library about donating copies of my books. Because libraries are sacred spaces and if my books can live on those shelves — even just one shelf, even just one copy — that means something to me.

It was one of those days where you drive home and think — yeah. This is why I'm here. Not the Gulf Coast in general. Here. This specific small town with its Saturday markets and Easter egg hunts and people who make things with their hands.

Taft, you're alright.

Do you have a local market or community event that fills you up like this? Tell me about it — I'd genuinely love to hear: Irish@irish-rivers.com

Irish Rivers writes memoir, literary fiction, dark fantasy, and romance fantasy from the Gulf Coast of Texas. The HideAway is available now. Probably Nothing: A Beautiful Wreckage releases April 10, 2026. Find her at irish-rivers.com