There’s going to be a host of options for people who like to shop at farmers’ markets.
The Shuswap Farm and Craft Market will operate in its usual place at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Fifth Street SW, in the Rainbow Glass parking lot behind Centenoka Park Mall. This market opens for the season on April 29 and operates from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays.
An all-organic market operates Wednesdays from 3 to 5 p.m. at Uptown Askew’s. Winter operations will continue March 2, 16 and 30 and April 13 and 27.
Now there are a couple more faces on the block.
The Salmon Arm Farmers Market is a recently formed organization, which will open for business on May 7. Outdoor markets will be held Tuesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 12:30 in the old Canadian Tire building owned by developer Bill Laird.
Downtown Salmon Arm is also planning a summertime market for Wednesday evenings at the Ross Street Plaza.
This has some people speculating about saturation.
“How many farmers’ markets can Salmon Arm support?” is a question posted by the Shuswap Farm and Craft Market on its Facebook page Monday.
“I know that it is confusing with so many markets in this town, but we are not part of the market starting at Canadian Tire,” reads the post. “I’m sure our customers are confused considering there are now five markets in a town with the population of what, 17,000? And why?”
But Karen Dow, secretary/treasurer of the new Salmon Arm Farmers’ Market, says the farmers’ market she, Chris White and Heather Middlestead are organizing is only one-quarter of their business plan.
Their venture will occupy 5,000 square feet of the building which will be known as Westgate and will include an artists’ co-operative, a commercial kitchen and a bistro where everything is $5 or less.
The co-op will be called It’s Handmade and will allow artists of all kinds to exhibit and sell their work without having to be on site.
Food items for It’s Homemade, the 32-seat bistro that will open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., will be prepared in the morning, leaving the kitchen available for rent in the afternoon.
Dow and Middlestead both currently operate businesses in Centenoka Park Mall and began hatching their plans after an artists’ store Middlestead opened for Christmas was very successful.