FAYETTEVILLE — Shoppers will have more places in town to buy fresh produce this year.
A new farmers market is cropping up off North College Avenue, and the Fayetteville Farmers’ Market plans to expand at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks.
At A Glance
Schedules
The first day for the Northwest Arkansas Farmers Market is Saturday at Mae Farm, 4618 N. College Ave.
• 3-7 p.m. Wednesday (March through November)
• 7 a.m-2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (March, April, October and November)
• 7 a.m-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (May through September)
The Fayetteville Farmers’ Market is open at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks.
• 4 a.m-7 p.m. Wednesday (April 10 through October)
• 10 a.m-2 p.m. Saturday (through March 30)
• 7 a.m-noon Saturday (April 6 through Nov. 23)
The Fayetteville Farmers' Market will open on the Fayetteville square April 6.
• 7 a.m-2 p.m. Saturday (April 6 through Nov. 23)
• 7 a.m-1 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday (April 9 through Nov. 21)
Source: Northwest Arkansas Farmers Market, Fayetteville Farmers' Market
The Northwest Arkansas Farmers Market is scheduled to open Saturday at Mae Farm, east of College Avenue between Lewis & Clark Outfitters and Lokomotion Fun Park.
Paul Kong, Nick Kong and Vicky Soung, market organizers, said they will offer fruits and vegetables, flowers, baked goods, honey and jams, eggs and crafts Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday through November.
The family runs a farm in Lincoln and has sold food at farmers markets in Fayetteville and Bentonville.
“Now we want to bring customers here,” Soung said.
Soung said 14 vendors will be at Saturday’s market. There’s room for 50 vendors, she said.
During the next couple of months, vendors will sell cold-weather crops grown in hoop houses and greenhouses, including spinach, kale, lettuce, cabbage, kohlrabi and bok choy. A food truck will sell hot Asian food, said Paul Kong.
Soung said all products will be grown within 100 miles of Fayetteville.
Cynthia Haseloff, steward of the Mae Farm, said the market fits with her vision for her family’s property.
“We are creating an agri-tourism farm, so this is very compatible with our goal of bringing fresh food to people,” Haseloff said.
Planning commissioners last year approved a conditional-use permit for the 17 acres. The permit allows for various events, including open-air antique shows, farm tours and wedding receptions.
Parking is available in about 20 spaces off Lake Fayetteville Road and in a public lot near the marina. Mae Farm has a shared parking agreement with Lokomotion and is working with Lewis & Clark to allow parking there, Haseloff said.
Unlike the Fayetteville Farmers’ Market, which is run by a nonprofit group called The Rural Mountain Producers Exchange, the Northwest Arkansas Farmers Market is a commercial enterprise.
Soung said the owners plan to charge vendors a fixed membership fee and collect a percentage of sales.
Lori Boatright, general manager for the Fayetteville Farmers’ Market, said she didn’t view the new market as competition.
“We support all access to local food,” Boatright said.
Fayetteville Farmers’ Market organizers plan to add a Wednesday early evening market at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks beginning April 10.
The market on the downtown square is scheduled to open April 6. It will run Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday through Nov. 23.
Two smaller year-round markets continue to operate.
The Green Fork Farmers Market is open from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday in the breezeway behind Nightbird Books, 205 W. Dickson Street, according to market organizer Cheri LaRue.
The Wren Thicket Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday south of The Grove apartments at 1041 S. School Ave.