POP! ends the year with gooey fun and record participation.

CARES and the Goetz Farm team up to feed others

A great end to a great market season

The 2019 version of the Farmington Farmers Market ended with a fun-filled Haunted Market on Oct. 26 that included lots of fall produce, children's activities and not a speck of rain. In other words, it was perfect.

Market Manager Walt Gajewski described the atmosphere as that of a carnival. “There were ventriloquist acts, puppet shows, a pyrotechnic hoop performer, outdoor cooking, live music along with the Big Heads from the Detroit Parade Company and people of all ages dressed in costumes to conjure up a menagerie of Halloween revelry,” he wrote in his column that appears in the Observer. “This all made for a festive finish to what has been an incredible season at the market.”

That incredible season saw a record average of more than 3,000 marketeers every Saturday; a 60 percent increase in the number of kids taking part in the POP! Club program; the addition of a community food assistance program, and a third straight year in which we were voted the metro area’s favorite farmers market in the WDIV Channel 4 Vote for the Best contest.

There are so many to thank for this success: our farmers, our artisans, our vendors, our shoppers, our musicians, our children’s program co-ordinators, our sponsors, our volunteers, our public works crews and so many more. It takes a community like ours to make Saturdays the best day of the week. See you next year at the market!

LOCATION: The Walter E. Sundquist Pavilion in George F. Riley Park, Grand River at Grove St.
HOURS: 9am-2pm Saturdays from May 17-Oct. 25, 2020
WHERE TO PARK More parking is available at the Village Commons Mall

The final POP! Club of the year

It's been a great summer with more kids than ever learning about the Power of Produce and how much healthy fun can be had by playing with your food.

We tasted strawberries we hulled ourselves, peas straight from the pods, cherries we pitted, corn fresh off the cobb, tiny tomatoes, noodles made from zucchini and cherries dressed for Halloween. We found mushrooms that looked like trees and patty pan squashes. We made art with stamp pads and produce and tested the patience of farmers with silly jokes. We even dared to reach into boxes marked Graveyard Worms and Ghoul's Heart to find ... veggies!

What's next? Come back next year and see for yourself! For photos from all our get-togethers, click here.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

May 17-Oct. 25, 2020

Mark your calendars now with the dates for next year's Farmington Farmers Market. It will help you get through winter's nasty months to know that help and locally grown produce are on the way!