Final farmers market marks end of summer
Katie Berning/Steamboat Pilot & Today archive
Somehow, the final weekend of the Main Street Steamboat Farmers Market is upon us, marking the end of summer and the start of shoulder season in Steamboat Springs.
While there may be less peaches, there will still be plenty of vendors on Yampa Street from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24.
“It’s time to get that thing that you wanted to get all summer because you’re not going to be able to get it all winter,” said Main Street Steamboat Executive Director Lisa Popovich. “Or Christmas gifts or stock up on your sauces, that kind of stuff.”
New this week is a vendor bringing in 26 varieties of fruit from Palisade including grapes, apples, pears and plums, more than making up for the lack of peaches this late in the year.
“Normally, we’re starting to run out of that kind of thing,” Popovich said. “We’ll have it in full force this weekend. That’s exciting.”
The farmers market has been going on all summer long since June 11, enjoying a year with no restrictions and more people embracing the social aspect of the market again.
“Noticeable was the amount of the community that came down and just kind of hung out like we used to,” Popovich said. “They come down and they chat and they’re talking to each other and they’ve got their kid in the wagon and having lunch. … To me, that’s the meaning of the success when the community comes down and enjoys the market and likes being there.”
Also special in 2022 was the addition of the Western Welcome Center, an area on Seventh Street that housed up to four nonprofits a week. It allowed groups to reintroduce themselves to the community, remind people what they did and seek volunteers.
“I think we would definitely do it again next year.” Popovich said. “I’ll be looking for feedback from the nonprofits to see how we could do it better.”
Steamboat Art Museum will be at the Western Welcome Center this weekend, kicking off the annual Plein Air Festival with painters on site capturing downtown Steamboat and selling their work at the end of the market.
The museum will be joined by Keep Bears Wild and Keep Routt Wild.
Shelby Reardon is the assistant editor at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach her, call 970-871-4253, email sreardon@SteamboatPilot.com or follow her on Twitter @ByShelbyReardon.
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