So far, so good for Frontenac Farmers market in Harrowsmith

Craig Bakay | Jul 14, 2021

After working hard for several years to build a clientele at Prince Charles Public School in Verona, the Frontenac Farmers Market moved around a bit when the pandemic hit, but now it appears that they’ve found a home in Harrowsmith’s Centennial Park.

“We’ve been here since mid-May and we plan to be here until mid-October,” said Mark Revelle of Mark’s Mushrooms last Saturday. Revelle serves as market manager and co-chair along with Erin Shannon. “When covid hit, they (the school board) kicked us out.

“We had a temporary spot at the rifle range.”

Then, South Frontenac Township came to the rescue.

“The Township offered us this spot and even built a pad for us,” he said. “We’d like to fill it up with people (vendors).”

“Moving down here is better” said Sharon Shannon, who was looking after daughter Erin Shannon’s Erin’s Eco Adventure stall. “It’s nice and open and easily seen from the road (38).

“Business has been steady and it’s definitely been worth coming out.”

On this particular Saturday, there were six vendors but Revelle sees things picking up.

“Business was slow in the beginning, mostly because we’re not that big,” he said. “But we’re getting more people once they see we’re here — and that’s a good thing.”

One feature the Market has added this year is different live musicians each week. On this particular Saturday, it was Dave and Linda — The Corksniffers. Tim Babcock is scheduled for July 17 with the country/bluegrass sounds of Dave and Susan the following week.

One thing they’re definitely looking for is more vendors. As a farmers market, 51 per cent of their vendors must be produce and while they’re happy to have craftspeople, the farm products are a priority.

If you’re a producer that would like to sell your goods, “get ahold of Erin,” Revelle said. “You can do that through our website Frontenac Farmers Market dot com or better yet, come on down to the Market and talk to us.

“We’re really looking for produce people, fruits/vegetables, meats, etc.” The Frontenac Farmers Market runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. until mid-October. They’ve been known to soldier on through heat, cold, winds, rain, snow, sleet and just about any other kind of weather the Frontenac summer and early fall can throw at us. Masks are required until the government tells us they’re not.

“We’re really looking for produce people, fruits/vegetables, meats, etc.”

The Frontenac Farmers Market runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. until mid-October. They’ve been known to soldier on through heat, cold, winds, rain, snow, sleet and just about any other kind of weather the Frontenac summer and early fall can throw at us. Masks are required until the government tells us they’re not.