Lansdale Farmers Market finds new home

By Dan Sokil

Lansdale, PA - The seventh season of the Lansdale Farmers Market is starting soon, and will have a new location while work is done near its old one.

“We’re very excited about the new site, and every time I go there I get more and more excited,” said market board member Carol Zellers.

The market was originally established by volunteers in 2009, and in that first season was located on Railroad Plaza near Main and Madison streets, before moving across Main to a location along the length of Railroad Avenue from 2010 through this past season. Railroad Avenue was closed to through traffic in late 2013 when work on the nearby borough municipal complex began, and officials have said once that building is done, Railroad Avenue will be converted for use by mass transit and emergency vehicles only.

This year’s location, approved by council’s public safety committee April 1, will move the market to the northwest end of the Madison Parking Lot, bordering the nearby freight line and occupying two rows of parking spaces north of Second Street and east of Wood Street — a spot Zellers said should work for both vendors and visitors. Rail traffic behind the area will provide a backdrop for a possible open seating area for visitors, and vendors will have electrical access provided by borough crews from nearby utility poles.

“Opening day is Saturday, May 16, and then we’ll run every Saturday thereafter until Saturday, Oct. 31. The vendors begin arriving at 7 a.m., and most are packed up by 1:30 — some of them stay to 1:45,” Zellers said.

Over the years the market has received formal nonprofit status from the state, hired a manager for the past two seasons, partnered with local organizations like Manna on Main Street, the Food Trust, and the North Penn Community Health Foundation to organize seasonal events like its annual Fall Harvest Festival , and celebrated the market’s fifth birthday with a party honoring early organizers in July 2013.

This year’s market calendar is already full of special events — a summer garden lecture series will be held on the fourth Saturday of each month, starting May 23, and story time and crafts for kids will be offered on the second Saturdays. A seventh season celebration will be held on July 4, which is indeed the exact anniversary of the market’s first day in 2009, and on Aug. 22 and Sept. 26 visitors to the market will be asked to buy and donate an item to Manna on Main Street for every two they buy.

As has become tradition, market Saturdays will also tie into borough events including Lansdale Day on June 6, its Clean and Green recycling fundraiser for the Lansdale Public Library on July 18, and the borough Founders Day events on Aug. 29. Unique market events in the works include a berry festival on July 11, the annual fall harvest day on Oct. 17, and more in the works — visit the market’s website www.LansdaleFarmersMarket.org, follow @LansdaleFM on Twitter or search for “Lansdale Farmers Market” on Facebook for more.

From Dan Sokil. (2015, April 7). Lansdale Farmers Market finds new home. Montgomery News. Retrieved from:  http://www.montgomerynews.com/articles/2015/04/07/north_penn_life/news/doc55230188a6eb4312908092.txt