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Getting stronger every year

The Cranbrook Farmer’s market had its best season yet.
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Artist Jim Robertson paints at the last Farmer’s Market

Arne Petryshen

The Cranbrook Farmers' Market wrapped up its summer season on Thanksgiving weekend. Organizers said the seventh year of operating the market was a good one.

"It was great," Erna Jensen, from the Cranbrook Farmers' Market, said. "It just seems to be getting stronger every year. The number of vendors is holding strong and or growing. It's always great when we're attracting more and different vendors to the market."

Jensen said there were a quite a few more food vendors this year, as well as growers of food. They are also starting to see more vendors making food products, like raw chocolate tiers and pies. There are also a number of meat producers.

"Those things are all going well and then the number of market patrons is what's really exciting," she said. "It just seems that the market is really such a popular place with Cranbrook folks and people who are visiting the area. It all melds together to make a really great market experience."

The market wrapped up its summer season on Thanksgiving weekend. She said it could not have been better.

“The weather was just gorgeous and we had 55 vendors out in Rotary Park that day,” she said. There was also live music and she said it all added up to be great event. “The market patrons were happy, the vendors were happy and the music was lovely. It was the nicest Thanksgiving market that I’ve seen for sure.”

She said it’s been a fantastic year and thanked the community for supporting the market.

Next up is the Winter Market, which is Nov. 27, 28 and 29 at the 1114 Baker Street location.

“We’re looking forward to that,” she said. “We have about 60 vendors that attend the Winter Market. It’s very popular with both vendors and market patrons, so we’ve got a wide variety of folks.”

She said while there won’t be the assortment of fruits and vegetables that are seen at the summer markets, there will still be things like apples, root vegetables and greens.

The market also features lots of food and artisanal products.

“A lot of the things that people just love to buy locally in preparation for the holiday season that comes up right after that,” she said.

She said last year they expanded the winter market from two days to three, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This year they will do that again.

“That just gives shoppers that extra day to be able to take advantage of it, and then it also means that we can offer some space to some different vendors, so people can come on Friday night and see different vendors than they might see on Saturday or Sunday afternoon.”

She also noted that at the board meeting this week the board will be putting the final touches on another indoor market season starting most likely in January.

She said to stay tuned for news on that.

“It’s pretty exciting for Cranbrook to be sort of following in the steps of some of the other markets around the province, like in Victoria and Vancouver that have year-round or markets that run through the season, not just the traditional growing months, if you will.”