Farmer's Markets

One of the most traditional and easiest ways to connect consumers with farmers is the farmer's market.  Usually a large group of farmers with various specialties meet on a Saturday; consumers come in droves and buy everything the farmers are offering.  Wouldn't that be nice!

We started investigating local markets over a year ago.  There are quite a few well established markets within a reasonable driving distances from us but there were quite a few caveats.  You had to commit to attend every market day or pay a penalty, had to carry a huge liability waiver, seasonal fee to have a booth PLUS you had to pay a percentage of your sales to the market.  There were other rules and commitments depending on the market but the ones I listed were a huge reason why we did not feel we could commit to a farmer's market.

All this said, we have recently started selling at a farmer's market!  The Bearly Believable Craft and Farmers Market in Stephens City, VA is a new market specializing in local artisans and farmers.  The market is in its infancy and is mostly crafters right now.  We are always looking for more farmers to attend.  And here's the great part -- it's free to have a booth!  Bearly Believable is a great little gift shop that has offered their parking lot for a weekly farmer's market. They are not charging fees and are very excited to have the market in their parking lot.  We operate from 8am - noon every Saturday.

We're trying to generate more public interest in the market. Do you attend farmer's markets? What draws you to them? What do you shop for?