Kemptville Kinsmen Farmers' Market opens for third season
Posted Jun 4, 2009 By Ashley Kulp
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EMC News - While the weather didn't fully cooperate, the Kemptville Kinsmen Farmers' Market kicked off its third season on May 31, bigger and better than ever!
Ashley Kulp, Kemptville EMC
The Kemptville Kinsmen Farmers' Market officially opened for its third season with a ribbon cutting on May 31 during the Dandelion Festival. Above, from left: Kemptville Kinsmen vice-president John Brewer, Kinsmen president Tom Lillico, market manager Colleen Bailey, vendor Rob Matthewson, vendor Tim Aubin, councillors Tim Sutton, Terry Butler and Barb Tobin and BIA president Gayle Poapst.
An official ribbon cutting to open the market (located in the municipal parking lot on Water St.) was held on May 31 to coincide with the North Grenville Dandelion Festival. The farmers' market will now be open from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sundays, from June to October. And according to market manager Colleen Bailey, they have hit the ground running.
"We've continued to see customers come out and support us and even now, at the beginning of the season, our vendors numbers are up. We're up six to seven vendors," she noted. "That's a 40 per cent increase in our numbers, so we're hoping for good things this season."
The farmers' market has grown steadily since its inception three years ago in the branch restaurant parking lot, which began with a core group of eight vendors, stated Tim Nason, Bailey's partner and local maple syrup producer. In its second year, the farmers' market moved to the Xtreme Car Wash parking lot, but has found a new home in the municipal parking lot on Water St. They've also adopted the slogan 'Know your farmer, know your food.'
Nason indicated that this year the market is trying to entice more craftspeople to join the vendors, which currently include mainly fresh, local produce and baked goods. Some vendors with items on display include: the Grenville Herb Farm, The Grateful Bread and Greener Green Acres of Limerick Forest.
"We are encouraging more craftspeople. We haven't had a lot of them in the past, because there's been a focus on local produce," Nason commented.
Another new feature to the market this year are the new 'Shop Locally' aprons for vendors as well as cloth bags customers can purchase, courtesy of a donation from the Old Town Kemptville Business Improvement Area (BIA).
"We've really seen significant support from them," Nason remarked.
The Kemptville Kinsmen Farmers' Market operates every Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. from June to October at the municipal parking lot at the corner of Water and Prescott Streets in Old Town Kemptville.
