Council approves Farmers Market’s move to City Park


Weiser’s Farmer’s Market started on June 15 and will continue every Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. through September. The last day of the market will be a celebration for the end of the season with a Harvest Festival on Sept. 28. The market is currently held at the historic train depot but plans are proceeding to move the event to Weiser City Park located next to the Washington County Courthouse. Pictured above is longtime vendor Betty Fuller. She sells magnets bracelets, scrubbies and key rings. Come check out her items for sale this Thursday, July 13. Photo by Sheri Smit
By: 
Philip A. Janquart
The Weiser City Council on Monday unanimously approved a request by Weiser Farmer’s Market organizers to move its operation to Weiser City Park.
 Since its inception in 2012, the nonprofit Farmer’s Market has set up shop in front of the Weiser Train Depot. Though it is an attractive and historic location, it does come with a few drawbacks for vendors and patrons alike.
 “We are trying to move the market over to City Park because there is more shade, it’s a central location, and hopefully we get more foot traffic,” said organizer Jennifer Huff prior to Monday’s Council Meeting. “It just makes sense to have it in the middle of town.”
 This year the market started about a month early, on June 15, but a wet spring has delayed harvest on some items.
 “Our traffic hasn’t been fantastic,” said Huff who is in her first season as the market’s manager. “Right now, we are still waiting on our fruit and vegetable vendors because it was an odd year for produce, so we are hoping to gain more fruit and vegetable growers. I really want to add to the number of people carrying produce, as well as baked goods and stuff like that.”
 Currently, there are some vendors carrying fresh produce and at least one vendor offering baked goods that include homemade cookies. There are also flowers and eggs, as well as honey products, woodworking, embroidery, and other craft items.
 “We also have a gal that has mushrooms, dried mushrooms,” added Huff. “She has lion’s mane, rashi, shiitake and more, and she really knows her stuff, too.”
 Huff said now that the council has approved the move, she and her volunteers hope to have it completed in the next couple of weeks.
 “Obviously, we want to move over to the park as soon as we can, but first we have to make sure that all of our vendors, all of our foot traffic, are aware of our change of location,” she said.
 Founded in September 2012 by the Weiser River Resource Council (WRRC), the Market is a not-for-profit program that reinvests every dollar collected from vendor fees and sponsorships into promoting the market.
 The market is open every Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Vendor booths are $5 per week. In the future, organizers may make electricity available.
 New this year will be a Harvest Festival to mark the end of the season, with the last day schedule for Sept. 28.
 “We plan on having it on the last day of the market,” Huff said. “We are going to extend it a couple hours and have some people with their later harvests come in, like corn stalk and stuff like that. We are going to try to have somebody come in with some pumpkins and have some different booths for entertainment like bobbing for apples, things like that.”
 The Weiser Farmers Market participates in the SNAP program.
 For more information, or to be added to the list of vendors, visit the Weiser Farmers Market on its Facebook page or call Jennifer Huff at (208) 741-1757.
 

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Signal American

18 E. Idaho St.
Weiser, ID 83672
PH: (208) 549-1717
FAX: (208) 549-1718
 

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