REGINA - This past week marked the golden anniversary for the Regina Farmers’ Market.
They are celebrating 50 years in operation in Regina and held their celebration event on Wednesday in Victoria Park to mark the occasion. Each vendor on hand that day had pictures at their booth showing their earliest days at the Farmers’ Market. There was also music and entertainment, and lots of people taking in the occasion on a hot and sunny late-May afternoon.
Holly Laird, Executive Director of the Regina Farmers‘ Market Cooperative, notes they have come a long way since their early humble beginnings.
“We started with 22 farmers in 1975. They set up (at what) was then the Exhibition Grounds, now called the REAL District, for their first inaugural season. And through the years we've had a number of different locations, both downtown and most recently at the Confederation Park. So that's sort of where we started and where we've been.”
The Farmers’ Market has moved around a number of locations both in REAL District and in the downtown, but the core mission remains the same.
“We're a cooperative, so we're made up of local farmers, producers, makers, bakers. We're farmer driven and we're volunteer run by our vendor base. Everything at the market, like I said, is made, baked, grown or designed in Saskatchewan, so very focused on local products. And the Farmers Market itself exists to support those vendors, have a place for them to come into town and sell their wares when they're in season.”
For customers, it’s a chance to buy fresh, high-quality products that you might not find at your local supermarket. For producers, it’s a chance to market their local products.
“It's a great way for them to come together with other like-minded producers and farmers and reach an audience that they can, you know, collaboratively create.”
“We have up to 80 Farmers’ Markets year round — our most popular and busy ones being in July and August. You know, that's what we can add to the community and that's what we can help with when we're talking about downtown revitalization."
In terms of how many vendors they attract, for their event last Wednesday they had about 47 on site “which is very large for our Wednesday markets. They're usually more around 30 vendors, but it being a special day, lots of folks came out to celebrate with us.”
On Saturdays, Laird said they usually host between 70 and 75 regularly. In total, they have 180 vendors on their roster, and “it can be any mix of those vendors when you attend.”
The Farmers’ Market is a big part of the downtown scene on Wednesdays. Laird sees it as vital in helping spur the downtown revitalization that people in Regina keep on talking about.
“How do you revitalize something? You bring people, you bring life, vibrancy, activity. And the Farmers Market does that consistently over and over again all through the year,” said Laird.
There have been some challenges recently for the organization in finding locations due to the construction downtown, and the Farmers’ Market has moved around a number of times over the years. But they have settled on a couple of venues.
From May until Thanksgiving, the Farmers’ Market holds two outdoor markets a week: Wednesdays downtown in Victoria Park and on Saturdays at the REAL District at Confederation Park.
After Thanksgiving, they remain at the REAL District but move inside to Banner Hall and stay indoors until April. That allows the organization and their vendors to remain in operation in Regina year round.
While some other community organizations have seen struggles in recent years, those involved with the Farmers’ Market say things are looking positive for them.
“Regina Farmers' Market is absolutely thriving and very excited for the next 50 years and what's coming up,” said Laird. “We have a strategic plan (from) our board that provides the governance of the organization. We're working towards a permanent year-round home and what that could look like, and how we could better serve the community through that sort of model. So absolutely, we're excited.”
As for the vendors, Laird says they do not have any that have been with them all the way since day one. “That's getting to be a long time with 50 years.”
But some longtime mainstays include Laurie Kitsch, whose business goes under the name The Cookie Lady. This is her 30th anniversary with the Farmers’ Market.
As for what she has seen in the last 30 years, Kitsch says it is “definitely growth.”
“The market has grown a lot and I've also seen a change in demographics. A lot more younger people are shopping at the market these days.”
When asked how her relationship with the Farmers Market has helped to get her products known, she said it has been “very beneficial.” She also has an online store and does larger craft shows and other Farmers Markets including in Fort Qu’Appelle, but is grateful for the Regina event for being able to showcase her products.
“The Farmers Market jump-started my business. That's where I started and that's where I'm going to end. I do other things, but Farmers’ Market is a major source of income for me.”
Another vendor is Gerard Milburn who is Director of Operations of Prairie Bee Meadery, as well as serving as President of the Regina Farmers’ Market Board.
“Prairie Bee Meadery is Saskatchewan's premium meadery and we take local honey and turn it into international award-winning wines,” said Milburn.
He said that process is “very similar to making wine actually.”
“So, we take the sugar in the honey and ferment it into alcohol. So, essentially, it's a little bit similar to a wine but no grapes are involved and it can be sweet or dry. So, we can make something for everyone's palate.”
The business has been at the Farmers’ Market since 2016. Milburn said that in the beginning, the Farmers Market was “one of the great places for Prairie Bee to sell its products.”
He said he is able to sell the product all over the province now. “We're one of the larger producers of fruit wine in the province. So, we sell it about a hundred different liquor stores and we actually attend about nine different Farmers Markets in the province. So, Regina Farmers’ Market has been really great as an incubator for us as a business.”
As for how others can become a vendor at the Farmers’ Market, Milburn said there is an applications process.
“We have a committee made up of both members, external directors and people like that. So, there's depending on what category of product you're making, growing or producing locally. So, we might have some vendors already. There may never be a niche or there may be a need for it. So, we go through that applications process. We encourage people to apply. If they're not accepted, we will typically provide some feedback as to how maybe you could do things slightly differently to be accepted in the future.”
As for what customers will typically see at a Farmers Market in terms of products, Milburn points to the produce.
“So, the main thing about a Farmers Market, you begin with the produce. So, people love fresh produce coming from farmers. So, that's the really basis for all of the best Farmers Markets out there. And that kind of is what makes it different from other craft fairs and other things like that. They all have their kind of place in their niche, but Farmers’ Market is about freshly produced products. It's the produce, it's the fruit, it's those bakers. So, for us, it's all about being made, grown or baked here locally.”
Milburn acknowledges a lot of people simply think of the Farmers Market as a place to go and buy something, but he says they see it in wider terms.
“It's a business incubator for small vendors who otherwise wouldn't be able to get a storefront or something like that. It's an outlet for farmers to come and do their business here away from the farm gate… And for us, you know, a dollar spent at the Farmers Market is three dollars that's recirculated in the local community, whether through things that you buy, through the people that are employed, all the supplies that you kind of consume as you do that kind of activity. So, it's a great way of keeping that money in the local area with the local people who support that local food infrastructure.”
