Haines Farmers Market wrapping up after successful season

The Haines Farmers Market is wrapping up for the season. Since June, dozens of vendors have met at the South East Alaska State Fair Grounds to sell a variety of handmade goods and local produce.

On a crisp clear Saturday morning, shoppers stroll through the Payson’s Pavilion at the Southeast Alaska State Fairgrounds.  A string band strums along on a stage above the makeshift market stalls set up by farmers, knitters, bakers, and vendors of all sorts of goods.

Melina Shields helps manage the Haines Farmers Market. She said it started a few years ago as a way to sell off surplus vegetables grown in the Chilkat Valley.

“So it’s grown from being just trying to get rid of too many zucchinis to really a lively and really wonderful event,” Shields said.

According to Shields, the market has hosted 15 vendors this summer and sees at least one hundred visitors every Saturday.

“The farmers market provides a wonderful opportunity for people who maybe are more inclined to just be home bakers but want to share some of their goods. There’s low pressure. They can role in and sell their goods. They can come once a season. They can come five times a season. I also feel like in an age where we’re talking a lot about food security it’s a really great opportunity to support our local farmers.”

Four local farms have offered produce at the market this season.

Sally Boisvert is selling a variety of vegetables from Four Winds Farm. She says the hot, dry summer has had an impact on the kind of crops on offer.

“Last summer was really great for potatoes and carrots and things that liked a lot of moisture and cool, but this year was great for tomatoes and cucumbers and zucchini. Way too many zucchini,” Boisvert said.

Vendors at the market sell everything from jams to pottery to hand-knitted beanies.

Cynthia Johnson sells pesto with locally foraged ingredients. She says that the market fosters a strong sense of community between vendors.

“We love all the other vendors. It’s kind of become a community in itself,” Johnson said. “We have people return every week to see what pesto we’ve created. It’s become a tradition for us. We’ve actually had people from out of town come and chat with us about what we do, and then we’ll actually take them mushroom hunting or berry picking. You know, providing the same experience that we have and sharing it with people who are local and beyond.”

There is more to the market than local products. This year the band Extended Play has provided live music, and a free art table is on offer for kids of all ages.

The art table is run by Betsy Shiner. Every Saturday she brings oil pastels, watercolors, colored pencils, crayons and all sorts of art supplies so kids can make masterpieces.

“I used to work with kids a lot and I really missed that,” Shiner said. “I also really liked to do art supplies. I had a lot of art supplies sitting around at my house. I wanted to bring art into the community. There are a lot of kids running around oftentimes at the farmers market with nothing to do. This is a nice central space to bring people together. Kids of all ages have joined us all summer for art and it’s great.”

The last Farmer’s Market of the season is September 29th.