Fort Farmers Market will be opening for its 19th season, beginning with “Spring Preview Market Days,” on Saturday, May 1. The spring preview celebrates the early harvest and features fresh spring produce, garden plants and seedlings, as well as a limited selection of the market’s baked goods and crafts. It will be held the first three Saturdays of May, from 8 a.m. to noon, in downtown Fort Atkinson at 19 E Milwaukee Ave W.
“We’re excited to begin the process of bringing back some of the elements of a normal market season that we had to forgo last year (due to the COVID-19 pandemic). While we’re not quite out of this pandemic yet, there is a lot to be hopeful for this season,” market manager Alisha Bade was quoted as saying recently in a press release announcing the market’s return.
The market will be taking a tiered approach with its reopening policies.
This year, dogs will be allowed in the market on non-retractable leashes of 6 feet or less. Live music will be returning to the market in June. For the safety of customers and vendors, the market layout will still maintain social distancing and for the time being, people are asked to continue wearing masks while in the market space, the release stated.
Limited children’s programming will also be returning to the market this year. Fort Community Credit Union is sponsoring the market’s kids art tent with weekly take-home art projects. Blodgett Garden Center is sponsoring this year’s “Power of Produce” program, slated to begin later in May. The program is designed to teach children about nutrition through gardening by way of a new children’s garden, created in partnership between the market and the Dwight Foster Public Library.
Fort Farmers Market, which is sponsored by Fort Healthcare, is a program facilitated through the Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce. Additional information, including children’s garden signup, volunteer applications, and market policies can be found at www.fortfarmersmarket.com.
Jazzed-Up Marshmallows owner Jason Quednow participates in the Fort Farmers Market in 2020.
Submitted photo.
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