The organizers of the Park Silly Sunday Market, two months after winning a hard-fought agreement with City Hall to continue staging the event on Main Street, say the number of people who have applied for vendor and performance slots has risen significantly.

According to the organizers, the figure comes to more than 500 among the various categories the Silly Market offers each Sunday. The Silly Market last week broke down the figures in an interview, indicating it had received applications from:

Approximately 185 arts and crafts vendors

Approximately 60 food vendors or purveyors of gourmet foods

More than 200 musicians or performers

At least 80 not-for-profit or environmental groups

“It’s demonstrated itself to be a successful place . . . and it’s also a lot of fun,” said Jewels Harrison, one of the lead organizers of the market.

The Silly Market recently hosted two meetings covering a range of issues designed for people who are interested in participating in this year’s market. Neither drew large crowds, with approximately 10 people attending between the two events. The organizers want to hold two additional informational meetings before the 2010 Silly Market season begins in June.

Harrison said she expects most of the spots will be granted by the beginning of the season, meaning that there might not be space for latecomers.

Most of the booths rotate between vendors throughout the summer and fall. The organizers decide whether a vendor gets a space and for how many Sundays.

The Silly Market’s 2010 season is scheduled to start on June 13 and run until Sept. 26. There will not be a market on the Sunday of the Park City Kimball Arts Festival in early August, and the market over Independence Day weekend will be shifted to Saturday to accommodate the 4th of July festivities on Main Street.

The two recent meetings were scheduled two months after the Silly Market organizers and City Hall reached an accord on an agreement that will keep the event on Main Street for three years starting in 2010 with another two two-year options. City Hall agreed to a package of financial inducements to keep the event on Main Street. Prior to the accord, the Silly Market organizers had indicated they were considering moving the event elsewhere in the area.

In the interview, Harrison said people have told her they are happy the event will return to Main Street. She said the street “has a lot of character” and “really feels like the heart of our community.”

But the late-hour discussions between City Hall and the organizers, which were held at a time when the Silly Market would have otherwise been preparing for the event, put back the fund-raising efforts, she said.

The organizers are “scrambling to catch up,” she said, adding that fund-raising is usually undertaken in November. Five or six potential sponsors are considering inking deals with the Silly Market, Harrison said, including a car dealership and a soda company.

April 21, the date of the second of the gatherings, the Silly Market had raised approximately one-third of the total funding it is seeking, Harrison said.

“It’s a late start for us this year,” she said.

The Silly Market is heading into its fourth season, and its popularity has grown each year. Approximately 90,000 people attended in 2009, triple the number in its inaugural year, and the organizers anticipate more growth in 2010.

There have been some complaints, though, from Main Street merchants and restaurant owners, especially on the upper reaches of the street, who claim the market has funneled business to the lower stretch of Main Street.