A woman sitting in a lawn chair in front of a banner that reads, "Lansdale Farmers Market."

Lansdale’s Farmers Market celebrates its fifth season

Denise Gosart, volunteer, sold shirts on Saturday at the Lansdale Farmers Market. Photo by Alison Wallach, The Reporter.

By Alison Wallach

LANSDALE — Customers of Lansdale’s Farmers Market celebrated the market’s fifth season this Saturday with birthday cake baked by Tabora Farms and complimentary snow cones to beat the heat provided by Kona Ice.

For Molly Whetstone, president of the market’s board, the market’s fifth birthday serves as an indicator of the broader changes that Lansdale’s Farmer’s Market helped bring to the community.

“We really feel like the market played a great role in fostering that sense of community. It was really the first thing that sparked that community initiative, getting things started. If you see something in this town that you want to change, change it. If you want to bring people downtown on a Saturday, then make it happen. I think that idea has really grown; it’s a ripple effect,” Whetstone said, citing events such as the Lansdale Beer Tasting Festival and Oktoberfest that have come to fruition in the last five years.

With the proceeds of the Beer Tasting Festival going towards local organizations including the Lansdale Public Library, Manna on Main Street, and the farmers market itself, the festival’s host, the Lansdale Area Fundraising Society (LAFS), aims to engage the community in a positive way and give back to the area.

“The great thing is that we talk about local politics and what’s going on in the community and really want to make an impact, because it’s a great town to live in,” said Mark Parzynski, Treasurer of LAFS and regular attendee of Lansdale’s Farmers Market.

Denise Gosart, third-year volunteer, echoed Whetstone and Parzynski’s sentiment, adding, “Lansdale never had anything like this five years ago. I’m very proud to work here, and I like the people I work with.”

Joan and David Fredericks have become frequenters of the market for the unbeatable “price and quality” of the corn, zucchini, and other fresh vegetables. Raised in Lansdale and having graduated from North Penn High School in 1962, David Frederick said that events like the farmers market and the car show have grown to be “good community activities.”

To honor of the market’s fifth season, event organizers invited back some of the original founders. In her opening remarks, Whetstone recognized J.R. Briggs as the first person to propose the idea of the market, Brooke Wasser and Bill Stevens as those who “took the idea and ran with it,” and organizations such as Manna on Main Street, the Food Trust, and the North Penn Community Health Foundation for their continuing support.

“We actually work very, very hard to make sure that our customers are oblivious to everything that goes on behind the scenes. So it was sort of an opportunity to step back from that and actually recognize the people that they have no idea have been so involved over the years,” Whetstone said of Saturday’s opening remarks. “But it’s the vendors and the customers that really keep this thing going… they deserve as much credit,” she added.

Since its inaugural day on July 4, 2009, Lansdale’s Farmers Market strived to unify area residents and support local farmers and businesses. On average, more than 1,000 people visit the market each Saturday during its mid-May to early November season.

Of the approximate 25 vendors featured at Saturday’s farmers market, eight of them stand as seasoned veterans. Jett’s Produce, Windy Springs Farm, Cardinal Hollow Winery, Overbrook Herb Farm, Green Street Luxuries, Lund Brothers Nursery, Tabora Farm & Orchard, and Saxman Breads have all returned each year.

It’s positive feedback from customers and vendors that help keep volunteers like Connie Lezenby returning to the market each year.

“It’s really fun to watch the small businesses get started and to encourage people. It’s great community spirit,” said Lezenby, fifth-year volunteer.

Bill Mickley, a fifth-generation farmer but a first time vendor at Lansdale’s Farmers Market, receives help at his stand from his 11-year-old son Brayden.

“He has the chance to learn some of the life lessons by being here, how to treat people, how to give change the correct way, the old-fashioned way,” Mickley said of Brayden.

Since the market’s opening day of the season on May 18, the kindness and enthusiasm of the market’s attendees have impressed Mickley, as he has “not met a mean person yet.”

“It’s a long drive but it’s well worth it… I’d love to stay here as long as the market’s here,” Mickley added.

The future of Lansdale’s Farmers Market looks bright, with the board’s strategic planning committee working towards expanding the market’s impact.

“It’s at a really good place today, but I’m just thinking about other organizations that we can partner with to enhance it, to build community. That’s really what it’s about, bringing the community together,” said Tom Allebach, former Director of Manna on Main Street and new addition to the market’s board.

For more information, visit. www.lansdalefarmersmarket.org.

From Alison Wallach. (2013, July 6). Lansdale’s Farmers Market celebrates its fifth season. The Reporter. Retrieved from:  http://www.thereporteronline.com/article/20130706/NEWS01/130709687/lansdale-s-farmers-market-celebrates-its-fifth-season#full_story