A second Revelstoke farmers market could start as early as May 13, though organizers are still waiting for final approval from city hall.
“We’ve submitted a permit to the city and we hope to hear back from them early next week,” said Melissa Hemphill, the food security coordinator with Community Connection and the chair of the steering committee starting the new market. “Until then, we don’t want to make any promises about when and where things are at, but we’re hoping to start up May 13.”
While Hemphill wouldn’t provide details, word at the final winter market of season on Thursday was the new market would be located on the 200 block of Mackenzie Avenue and would take place at the same time as the existing market.
The hope is while there are two separate market organizations, each with their own members and policies, to shoppers it would look like one big market.
The existing farmers market launches in Grizzly Plaza this Saturday, April 29, for the 2017 season.
Hemphill said the new market has space for 28 vendors and they’ve had about 35 express interest in joining.
“We should be able to accommodate most of those,” she said. “It does depend on the rules set out in the policies who qualifies.”
At the winter market, Terra Firma Farm, Wild Flight Farm, Thimbleberry Farm, and Ellen Tremblay from Silky Soap & Body Care all confirmed they would be part of the new market when it starts.
Several other vendors were still waiting to find out if there would be power at the new market, which they need to run their stalls.
The new market was started by the Local Food Initiative after Wild Flight Farm was booted from the existing one. The move, on top of removing a popular vendor from the market, also sparked concerns about the way the existing market is run.
The steering committee for the new market includes a mix of vendors, business people, and community members.
