The days are growing long, temperatures are heating up, and the tree leaves are blooming — spring is here.
And that means it is time for Mount Airy Farmers Market to open.
This year’s opening day will be a little different, more like a small festival than a mere farmer market opening, with live music, vendors, product samples, and even a special ice cream seller to be onhand.
The festivities get underway at 9 a.m. Friday, April 22 at 111 South Main Street, in the parking lot next to the Post Office.
Farmer’s Market Manager Joe Zalescik said this year looks to be a good one, with many returning local farmers and vendors, as well as new ones, signed up for booths.
“Not all of them will be there on the opening days,” he said, explaining many of the farms selling locally grown produce don’t yet have crops coming in.
“This time of year, it mainly will be the crafts, honey, meat vendors, micro greens, it’s just too early for local produce.”
That doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty to see, do, and purchase.
Beginning at 11 a.m., the Wilkerson Family will be singing and playing. Having live music continues a project Zalescik started in 2021, when a local businessman made an anonymous donation to fund periodic live music at the market. Zalescik said that was such a hit, he was able to work the cost into this year’s budget.
Later this spring and summer, he has booked the Cedar Ridge Band to play on May 20, July 1, July 29, August 26 and Oct. 7, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. each time they appear.
“As the season goes I will try to work in more groups. We won’t have music every week, it will be spread out across the season,” he said.
For the upcoming opening, another treat will be The Frosty Monkey, a vendor which sells ice cream and shaved ice at various outdoor events in the region.
“We’re going to have small plants for the first 25 or so (customers), and we’ll have give-aways,” he said. The booth he and his wife, Amy, own and operate — Station 1978 Firehouse Peanuts — will be offering free samples of fresh-roasted peanuts and all nature peanut butter.
The Mount Airy Farmers Market is part of a three-site network of Surry County farmers’ markets, with the other two in Dobson and Elkin. Farmers and vendors purchase a single permit which allows them to sell at any of the three markets throughout the year.
Mount Airy’s market opens April 22 and will be operating every Friday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. until Oct. 28, although Zalescik said there may be extended hours during Mayberry Days and Autumn Leaves Festival. Elkin opens the next day, April 23, and is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon through Oct. 29 at 226 North Bridge St. The Dobson market, which will operate every Tuesday from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at 903 East Atkins Street, opens June 7 and ends Sept. 6.
For more information on the Farmer’s Market, or information on becoming a vendor, visit https://surrycountyfarmersmarket.com/
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com