Farmers Market launched in Sisters

It was a soggy start, but spirits remained undampened at the inaugural Sisters Farmers Market held on the grounds of the Sisters School District Administration building on Sunday, May 25.

Vendors offered wares ranging from handmade soaps to honey, from baked goods to coffee, with some craft items thrown in as a surprisingly large crowd of locals gathered in the rain to sample the goods.

The markets will be held each Sunday at the same location through the summer, starting at 11 a.m.

"I have high hopes for the season" said Dawn Mead of La Petite Savonnerie (The Little Soap Factory). "We needed a farmers market. I'm glad it's here."

That sentiment was echoed by many of the attendees. Some said they'd been waiting for years for a farmers market to come to Sisters.

They have Sarah Yancey to thank for it. The proprietor of Delish Bakery in Redmond, she also started the Redmond Farmer's Market. She responded to the clear demand in Sisters.

"Over the last maybe three years a variety of individuals in the Sisters community had called me for help and opinions (on creating a farmers market) and so on and so forth," Yancey said. "And also people were wanting a farmers market, so I just made it happen."

She submitted a plan to the City of Sisters, which went through the same kind of process other business applications go through in Sisters. She said her experience with the city planning department was "awesome; no complaints."

Yancey noted that farmers markets are distinguished from more craft-oriented fairs by enforcing a proportion of 70 percent food and food-product vendors to 30 percent crafters.

The Sunday event was shy about 10 vendors who never showed up, presumably because of the rain. Yancey wasn't concerned. She was pleased with the number of patrons who turned out and is looking forward to next weekend - hopefully with a little sunshine.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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