Farmer’s Market
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008You may have been a part of the Farmer’s Market this past summer, whether you sold produce or were there to buy it. The market had a great deal of planning to go through before it could be put into place, though.
The new Farmers Market in Columbus grew out of the idea that surfaced in one of the Horizons focus groups that it would be great for Columbus to become a thriving self-sufficient community. While there are many needs to be met in order for that to be the case, it was felt that the ability to buy locally grown produce and locally raised meats and eggs was a good first step.
Horizons approached several local gardeners and people who raise animals for meat in the area to see if they’d be interested in participating in a market that we planned to hold on the five Thursdays in August 2007 from 4-7 pm in the local downtown park. Several individuals were found who would be interested in participating. After talking about it around town, it was found that the community was very excited about the idea of being able to shop at a local farmers’ market, so the supply and demand for the event seemed to be met.
In May, we joined forces with CCAN (Columbus Community Action Network) to take advantage of their knowledge about organizing events in Columbus. They were also quite enthusiastic about the idea and offered their support in all areas.
The crowd at our first market was so strong that nearly everyone sold out within the first 45 minutes. We had 14 sellers at the 2nd market and even though everyone brought more to sell, again most sold out within the first 45 minutes. By the 3rd market, we had 22 sellers and continued to have strong crowds.
We were playing recorded music during the first market and then had a quartet of older musicians arrive near the end of the market. They had a banjo player, bass player, fiddle player and a guitar player and sang some wonderful music. They were from the town of Molt about 20 miles away from Columbus. They have arrived by 4pm for each subsequent market and supply wonderful music for us each time. They say it’s really fun to play here.
We had originally set the market just for August, with the idea that if it was going really well, we’d consider extending it into September. We were asked repeatedly by the buyers if we’d be willing to extend into September, so I approached the sellers and most wanted to continue for two more weeks. Several of the sellers have had experience with other markets and have told us they can’t believe this is a brand new market because business is so good.
The market seems to be a great success and the Columbus community, and surrounding communities of Absarokee, Park City, Rapelje and Reed Point have really embraced it. The crowds are there promptly at 4 pm and people continue to arrive during the 3 hour period, to buy product, socialize, listen to the musicians and have hamburgers and hotdogs from a local vendor. It is estimated that 200-300 people attended the market each week. We plan to offer the market again in 2008, probably for all Thursdays in August and the first two in September.
http://columbus.communityblogs.us/2008/01/22/farmers-market/