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Hamilton
RiversEdge farmer’s market: every second and fourth Thursday, beginning May 29, tentatively from 4 to 8 p.m. at RiversEdge Amphitheater in conjunction with the concert series. Vendor’s fee would be $25 for all six days. To apply to be a vendor, email Adam Helms at helmsa@hamilton-oh.gov.
HUGS: To volunteer with HUGS, or for more information regarding local farmer’s markets, email Alfred Hall at hamiltonurbangarden.hug@gmail.com
Middletown
Middletown Downtown Farmer’s Market: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, June 8 through Oct. 5 in Swallens Park Vendor’s fee is $10 a day. To apply to be a vendor, visit www.downtownmiddletown.org
Farmer’s markets are sprouting up throughout Butler County, giving residents more options for purchasing produce.
Next week, Hamilton City Council will consider the creation of an additional farmer’s market, to be held in conjunction with the summer concert series at RiversEdge Amphitheater downtown.
During farmer’s market season, the city also hosts its Historic Farmer’s Market on Saturdays around the historic courthouse and Market on the Plaza, a weekday farmer’s market outside the Hamilton Municipal Building.
About to enter its third year, the summer concert series is held on the second and fourth Thursday from June through August.
The addition of a farmer’s market to the series’ festivities will be an asset to the concertgoers and vendors alike, said Director of Resident Services Adam Helms. The market will generate more foot traffic and provide local produce and baked goods, he said.
The amphitheater already has traditional concert food stands, so Helms envisions a local produce-heavy, “make it, bake it, or grow it” structure.
“There really isn’t an outlet downtown for (local produce), besides the Saturday Historic Farmer’s Market,” he said.
Alfred Hall, executive director of Hamilton Urban Gardens (HUGS), has organized farmer’s markets in the past, and said the RiversEdge concerts are an opportunity to make the event more than a concert.
“Buying and supporting local is extremely important, and anything HUGS can do to give Hamilton the choice to buy locally is great,” he said.
The RiversEdge Amphitheater can serve as an anchor meeting place for the Hamilton community, and as a bigger destination for out-of-towners searching for music, food, and fun in the city, officials said. If approved by City Council, the farmer’s market would be held on six dates, on the days of concerts, beginning May 29. The vendor’s fee, currently slated for $25 for the season, would offset park and concert costs.
Meanwhile in Middletown, Downtown Middletown Inc.’s farmer’s market’s inaugural summer last year was a great success, and will be returning to Swallens Park, the former Swallens Building, on Saturdays starting June 8.
“There used to be farmer’s markets some years ago, but it had been a long time since there was one (in Middletown),” said Deborah Rumford, a Music Club videographer and volunteer with Downtown Middletown, Inc. The market averaged seven vendors each Saturday last year, and Rumford hopes to increase that number next year.
“We were consistent last year, (so) this year will be even better,” she said.
Vendors last year included the Produce Co-Op, Deb’s Bees honey products, and Beana’s Kitchen baked items. All vendors are required to sell products made, grown, or baked within 100 miles of Middletown, ensuring seasonal freshness and local support.
Before Downtown Middletown organized this market last April, the closest farmer’s market was the Oxford Farmer’s Market in Uptown Oxford.
If approved, the RiversEdge market will join Hamilton’s two current farmer’s markets: The Historic Farmer’s Market, established in 1875, runs Saturdays 7 a.m. to 1p.m. from May 25 through Nov 2 at 101 High Street, and the Market on the Plaza at the Government Services building runs Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 3p.m., June 6 through October 31.
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