by Stephen Dafoe
The Morinville Farmers’ Market opens the 2017 summer market season this Friday with their first outdoor market of the year. The market will continue its outdoor run in the arena parking lot on Fridays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. until the fall when it will return inside the arena for the winter season.
Farmers’ Market Manager Korien Sampson said the outdoor market will start with about 15 to 20 vendors, including fruits and vegetables from Red Apple, Young’s Fresh Beef, Codfather’s Fresh Seafood, and Intimate Impressions, the latter a company that makes planters out of towels.
“We’re excited. We’re looking forward to our 32nd season at the Farmers’ Market,” Sampson said. “We’re looking to grow it. We changed our hours specifically so the public can come.”
Sampson said the hours, changed last year to accommodate commuting shoppers, have worked well, although the market had a slow winter season.
Although Sampson recognizes that the economy has had an effect on the Farmers’ Market in Morinville and other communities in Alberta, she also realizes that more customers are needed to keep vendors coming back.
“Sometimes with the price of the product, you think it is cheaper in the store, but the quality is that much higher,” Sampson said, adding the vendors have been dropping prices to help customers. “It’s a lot easier for big companies to truck their produce in than it is for Grandma Lee down the road to grow her garden and put tender loving care into it, so you get you quality vegetables and products.”
Sampson said for the winter market to thrive, they should have been seeing about 200 to 300 customers per week. In the closing weeks of the indoor market, the actual tally through the door was between 50 and 75, a quarter of the number needed to thrive. For the summer market, Sampson said an ideal number is 500 customers per day to start, building to 1000 at the peak. Last year’s numbers show the outdoor market ranging between 300 to 400 each week.
“If we could start the outdoor market at 500 and build to 1000, you’d see a totally different market,” Sampson said.
The Morinville Farmers’ Market runs this and every Friday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. A special Farmer’ Market will also run during Festival Days starting June 16.
Maybe if held on a sat where more people are off and looking for things to do could fix that situation. Some people arnt even home from work by the time it closes on fridays.
So agree!! I made it one time the whole time I lived out there.
If she switched it to Saturday, she would be competing with the St Albert Market on Saturday – so she probably would lose vendors because they also do the St Albert Market.
Right now our vendors attend the larger Saturday markets, if we can rock our attendance on a Friday then our vendors would consider another day in our great town.
What about sundays
What about longer hours on friday??
In past summers we ended at 5, one year at 6. this is a first for us being open till 7 during the summer time. We are looking forward to it, as this was a complaint in previous years from shoppers.
Ohhh yay. Open till 7 now. I had no idea. Ill be by next friday.
I agree with Meghan Roemer
I agree and more vendors
We need more customers, we get TONS of inquires from new vendors all the time, but the customer count keeps them from attending.
But if they came more people would as there would be more to buy from
Unfortunately that is not how a vendor who is making their life’s earnings look at it. They need to know they will make in a day at our market what they could make somewhere else. Without the customer count, new vendors are not likely to join us for long.
Agree ! I’ve lived here for 10 years and I’ve only been once!
Definetly change the day…. attendance would for sure be far better
Right now our vendors attend the larger Saturday markets, if we can rock our attendance on a Friday then our vendors would consider another day in our great town.
Saturday would be much better.
I work in town and I still can’t make it to the market before it closes?
We have new hours this summer, 3-7pm. Hope that works for you.
those are the ones that are a challenge for me. When it was at noon, i could go on lunch. I know you can’t accommodate everyone
Last year we were open during lunch hour but with little success, so this year we are trying the dinner hour as that is what most people suggested.
Morinville Farmers Market I totally understand. Hopefully it works for you.
The hours make it a challenge to come out and support
New summer hours are 3-7 pm.
Stacey M. Brooks
How do you become a vendor? Is there a form to fill out? How much to have a table there?