Nadine Charity wouldn't think of missing opening day at the SFM
Article from the Shreveport Times:
Farmers market draws large crowd
Farmers, vendors draw crowd to Festival Plaza
by Michele Marcotte
JUNE 5 2011 SUNDAY PAPER FRONT PAGE
Jacksonville, Texas, tomato grower Kevin Kadlecek wasn't quite sure what to expect Saturday when he set up for the first time at the Shreveport Farmers Market. But, he was pleasantly surprised.
"I've never seen anything like this," he said between stacking up baskets of plump red and green tomatoes and taking orders from the steady stream of people who came to his stall under the west pavilion. "It's been wonderful and better than any of the others I've been to."
More than 12,000 people filed into Festival Plaza on Saturday to fill shopping carts, colored totes and wagons with produce, crafts, spices and meat on the first day of the market's summer season. The market is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
"We're having a fantastic day," said manager Noma Fowler-Sandlin said, adding everyone was "buying and selling like mad."
Long lines of residents snaked in and around the plaza's covered pavilions for a wide assortment of fresh produce that ranged from cabbage to watermelon.
With beignets, meat pies and other Louisiana favorites available, it wasn't uncommon to see shoppers munching along as they grabbed a helping of green beans or a basket of squash. Market favorites appeared to include Bradley's sweet corn, which attracted a line of residents that stretched well out onto Crockett Street for most of the morning.
"If you don't come early, you won't get any," said Mike Chastine, who's been coming to the market for the past four years. "They're usually out by 7:30 a.m."
Lee Koehn, a member of the Bradley, Ark., Mennonite family that grows the corn, said he's seen the market grow significantly in the last five years.
"When we first got here, there were maybe 20 vendors," he said. Saturday's market included 149.
Roberta Payne, who has sold produce at the Shreveport Farmers Market since it started in the 1980s, said the number of shoppers has increased over the years, too.
The growth has been so significant that the market had to expand this year, which resulted in enough space to bring back artists after a two-year absence.
Kathryn Usher, a local artist who returned to the farmers market Saturday, said she is glad to be back because the atmosphere helped her gain direct feedback on her work, which helped her continue to develop as an artist.
New artists, such Ryan McCutcheon, who helped work on the Shreveport Convention and Tourist Bureau mural, were equally as excited to be participating in the market because of the amount of people who were exposed to their art.
The modern Shreveport Farmers Market started in 1986.
It was located in what is now the Red River District and eventually moved to the railroad bridge next to SciPort before going to its current location at Festival Plaza.
Fowler-Sandlin said over the past four years the market has grown so significantly that it seems to be becoming "the place to shop."
Shreveport Farmers' Market 2011 Festival Plaza Shreveport downtown riverfront
IMG_6779
Nadine Charity wouldn't think of missing opening day at the SFM
Article from the Shreveport Times:
Farmers market draws large crowd
Farmers, vendors draw crowd to Festival Plaza
by Michele Marcotte
JUNE 5 2011 SUNDAY PAPER FRONT PAGE
Jacksonville, Texas, tomato grower Kevin Kadlecek wasn't quite sure what to expect Saturday when he set up for the first time at the Shreveport Farmers Market. But, he was pleasantly surprised.
"I've never seen anything like this," he said between stacking up baskets of plump red and green tomatoes and taking orders from the steady stream of people who came to his stall under the west pavilion. "It's been wonderful and better than any of the others I've been to."
More than 12,000 people filed into Festival Plaza on Saturday to fill shopping carts, colored totes and wagons with produce, crafts, spices and meat on the first day of the market's summer season. The market is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
"We're having a fantastic day," said manager Noma Fowler-Sandlin said, adding everyone was "buying and selling like mad."
Long lines of residents snaked in and around the plaza's covered pavilions for a wide assortment of fresh produce that ranged from cabbage to watermelon.
With beignets, meat pies and other Louisiana favorites available, it wasn't uncommon to see shoppers munching along as they grabbed a helping of green beans or a basket of squash. Market favorites appeared to include Bradley's sweet corn, which attracted a line of residents that stretched well out onto Crockett Street for most of the morning.
"If you don't come early, you won't get any," said Mike Chastine, who's been coming to the market for the past four years. "They're usually out by 7:30 a.m."
Lee Koehn, a member of the Bradley, Ark., Mennonite family that grows the corn, said he's seen the market grow significantly in the last five years.
"When we first got here, there were maybe 20 vendors," he said. Saturday's market included 149.
Roberta Payne, who has sold produce at the Shreveport Farmers Market since it started in the 1980s, said the number of shoppers has increased over the years, too.
The growth has been so significant that the market had to expand this year, which resulted in enough space to bring back artists after a two-year absence.
Kathryn Usher, a local artist who returned to the farmers market Saturday, said she is glad to be back because the atmosphere helped her gain direct feedback on her work, which helped her continue to develop as an artist.
New artists, such Ryan McCutcheon, who helped work on the Shreveport Convention and Tourist Bureau mural, were equally as excited to be participating in the market because of the amount of people who were exposed to their art.
The modern Shreveport Farmers Market started in 1986.
It was located in what is now the Red River District and eventually moved to the railroad bridge next to SciPort before going to its current location at Festival Plaza.
Fowler-Sandlin said over the past four years the market has grown so significantly that it seems to be becoming "the place to shop."
Shreveport Farmers' Market 2011 Festival Plaza Shreveport downtown riverfront
IMG_6779