Talk of the Town - Whitley County

(Talk of the Town photo by Mahri Romano) Market master Tiffany Herron, below, and her daughter Twyla, survey the crowd at the 2007 Farmers Market in Columbia City. This year, Herron and others have some exciting changes and hope to draw even more customers to the Whitley County Courthouse lawn on Saturday mornings beginning May 3. 

By Jennifer Zartman Romano

The Columbia City Farmers Market, though still two weeks away from opening weekend, is already off to an excellent start according to market master Tiffany Herron.

On Thursday, Herron and others coordinating this year’s market activities held a meeting to register market participants and were pleased to have 18 sign up.

“Everyone’s really looking forward, this year, to the growth of the market,” Herron said. With record attendance at the sign up meeting, things are looking optimistic on the growth front.

The market kicks off on Saturday, May 3, and Herron expects more vendors will sign up by that time and throughout the summer. “We haven’t even gotten started yet,” she said.

While the market could accommodate up to 100 vendors, Herron views their growth in a cautious way.

“We could have 100 vendors, but we need to have 100 local customers to support those vendors,” she said. And, speaking of customers, Herron is excited at the level of communication she’s witnessed between vendors and their customers.

“I’m really excited about the way the farmers have listened to what their customers have asked for,” Herron said, sharing that many have made note of their customer’s preferences when planning their crops this year.

Some new, food-oriented offerings this year will include free range eggs, organic produce and honey.

In addition to crops, many exciting new vendors with handmade crafts and other items have committed to be involved this year, with items such as stained glass jewelry, artistic children’s clothing and grocery totes with an artistic flair.

Something else new and different this year: yoga! Herron will lead free yoga lessons on Saturday mornings in the gazebo on the courthouse lawn beginning at 7:15 a.m. starting in June. Herron is also looking into finding morning musical entertainment at the gazebo during market hours.

Herron said she enjoys the fact that Columbia City has a thriving farmers marketing and feels that the timing couldn’t be better in an era of going green and keeping our green dollars within the community.

“It’s just wonderful there is a farmers market in Columbia City,” she said, “with all the talk about going local, shopping locally and keeping dollars in our community.”

In Herron’s mind, keeping those dollars in the community as long as possible is an important part of what the farmers market accomplishes.

“Those dollars stay in the hands of our friends and family,” she said. “Supporting the farmers market supports your neighbor.”

“In some regards, we are so removed from where our food comes from,” she said. “So, it’s kind of cool when you come to the farmers market and can see what we in Indiana can grow and what time of year it can grow.”

Again this year, several farmers market participants will be accepting vouchers from the Women Infants and Children (WIC) program – meaning local recipients can choose to provide their families with fresh, local produce.

The Columbia City Farmers Market will be open each Saturday from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. beginning the first Saturday in May and continuing until the last Saturday in October.

For more information about the farmers market, to register for a sales location or with questions, contact Tiffany Herron at milesofsmiles6@yahoo.com or call her at 248-2148.