Farmers Market sets May 5 opening

The annual Farmers Market will open for the season Saturday, May 5, according to committee members Fred and Violet Wise. This year, the market will be held each Saturday through Oct. 29 at the livestock area of the Alleghany County Fairgrounds.

At the present time, the only Saturday the market will not be held at the fairgrounds is Aug. 25, the last day of the annual county fair. The Wises stated that while smaller spaces will be available for vendors, plans are to make the spaces 12' by 12' in size and charge $8 for each space. The cost paid by the vendors pays for the start up costs, advertising and other expenses that will be incurred by the market, Ms. Wise said.

When the market opens, customers will be given the chance to browse the area, full of items ranging from seasonal Alleghany homegrown produce and baked goods and crafts.

Vendors will have to undergo a certification process of sorts, which is of no charge to the potential vendor. To become certified means someone from the extension office could come to the potential vendor's location to assure that the product that would be sold at the market is in fact being grown or made in suitable conditions at a location within Alleghany County. To attain certification guidelines and learn more about the process, potential vendors are asked to contact the local extension office at 372-5597.

Mr. Wise encourages growers to get their certification early, even if they may not have produce ready to sell during the first month of the market.

"Next month, the garden might be coming up real good, they could come out and sell," Mr. Wise commented. "Go ahead and get certified so if your garden does start coming up, (and) you've got more than what you need, tomatoes or whatever, you can come out and sell it. You'd be certified. Instead of waiting until the last minute and saying, 'I've got all this stuff, I need to sell it.'

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