JoAnne's Archive

Meeting Time, Again!
By JoAnne LEone

Tuesday, June 7 kicks off the season at the Market. And by the buzz at the Strawberry Jubilee, everyone has been as anxious as I for the Market to open. So, if you haven’t already heard, the Market is not open this season on Wednesday mornings. It will be open every Tuesday evening, instead, from 4pm-8pm. And every Saturday, the Market is open from 7am-1pm.

The decision to do Tuesday evenings was threefold. First, we wanted to encourage more families to participate in the Market. Working folks had a hard time making Wednesday mornings. Even Saturday mornings are tough when you have a family. Now, after work on Tuesday, you can gather everyone up and head to the market. There will be great deals in produce, wonderful crafts, and dinner served, as well. Each Tuesday will be something different from our food vendors. Young Cane Lodge will be serving their famous BBQ plates on the first and third Tuesdays. Every week Logan Turnpike Mill will be serving a different menu. This Tuesday Cecelia is serving Pinto Beans and Cornbread for $3 or Grits Casserole for $3. And there are more food vendors, too.

The second reason for the decision to open on Tuesday afternoons was for the Farmers. This leaves them in the fields in the cool of the day instead of missing a day of work. This should mean more Farmers will be selling, more produce to buy. Lastly, our other vendors who sell items other than produce – this is usually a second income for them. So, they couldn’t participate in the Market during business hours. Now they’ll be able to join us.

The vendors have responded – they’ve made their commitment to Tuesdays. Now we need you there to make it complete! So, ask your neighbors if they want to drive into town with you. Grandparents, tell your busy kids and grandkids to meet you at the Market and spend a nice evening together. Don’t want to go home after work and then head out to town again? Come to the Market right from work, pick up “dinner to go”, plus some fresh produce and head on home, ahead of the game.

As an added bonus this year, we will be promoting who and what is at the Market each week in three places. Beginning in two weeks, the North Georgia News will be adding a Classified column headlined “Farmers Market”. Our vendors will be letting you know what booth they are in (booths are now numbered) and what they will have to sell that week. Nice to get a heads up on the first corn of the season! We have also created an event page on Facebook. Just search Union County Farmers Market, and “like us”. And then you will find all the updates on this website.

A special thank you to all who made Strawberry Jubilee such a great success. Yes, it was unfortunate that the hail had made jam out of the strawberry crops – but everyone who came had a great time. Can’t wait to see you at the Market opening!