For those who are in need of their farmer’s market fix in the winter, look no further than Keshena.
The College of Menominee Nation in Keshena hosted the first winter farmer’s market of the season, where jewellery, crafts and apple cider were available for sale. If visitors could not get to Keshena for the Oct. 28 winter farmer’s market, there are two more scheduled, with the next date being Nov. 18, followed by Dec. 16. Both days will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Today is the first winter farmer’s market, hosted by (College of Menominee Nation) Sustainable Development Institute and the Department of Continuing Education,” said event organizer Tatjana Farjadi. “We are trying to bridge the gap between the summer farmer’s market and these winter months.”
Farjadi said that there has been expressed interest in returning to a farmer’s market in the winter months from vendors.
“It is great that SDI is able to provide,” said Farjadi. “People want to keep up the presence, both on the vendors side and just on the community members side. It has become such a consistent thing over the summer, so it is nice to keep up that consistency during the colder months.”
She called the market a community event and pointed to that idea of supporting community members as to why the farmer’s market has gained popularity.
“It is a lot of supporting the people in your community and the people that you know,” said Farjadi. “It is just keeping up that sustainable economic piece. It is a different experience than shopping online.”
In terms of anything different between the winter farmer’s market and the summer farmer’s market, Farjadi said that visitors can expect a natural shift to more crafts, as opposed to food.
“We are still really grateful and excited to see the exact same vendors from the summer farmer’s market,” said Farjadi.
Barb Garvey, who traveled from Pulaski to sell apples and apple-related seasonal drinks, said it was her first time selling in Keshena.
“I have gone to the Shawano Farmers Market as a vendor, and I always wanted to come to Keshena because everyone says that they have a farmer’s market during the summer,” said Garvey. “It was interesting to see that the college was hosting it, so I thought it would be a neat thing to come.”
Garvey said that she also took this as an opportunity to teach people about her growth methods for apples.
“It is also neat that it is the Cultural Learning Center, because for my product, it is a holistic orchard, so we don’t use chemicals,” said Garvey. “You want people to learn why we do that — so I thought this was a good chance to do that. It has gone really good — a lot of people were interested and got good feedback.”
In her first experience at a farmer’s market in Keshena, Garvey said that she has learned about different cultures from different vendors.
“I think as a community, just being able to get together and talk — I think we need that,” said Garvey.
Ron Bowan, who has many years of experience selling various crafts, said that having this event in the community is an overall positive thing.
“If you look around, most of the vendors are local, so it gives us an opportunity to get out crafts out,” said Bowan. “It is just nice to get involved with the community. This is just a place where people can meet up.”
Farjadi added that interested vendors can contact her through email at tfarjadi@Menominee.edu.
lreimer@newmedia-wi.com
CMN hosts first winter farmer’s market
