Farmers market a roaring success

In downtown Whitefish, you can eat the scenery

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

Five years ago, a committee of local residents got permission from the city to close the north end of Central Avenue for a downtown farmers market. Rhonda Fitzgerald agreed to present the group's request to the city council.

"We had two trial markets that August," she said.

The next year, a farmers market was held every Tuesday from June through August. In 2005, the committee extended the dates from May into September.

"Today, we hold 19 regular Tuesday markets and two special harvest markets on Sept. 30 and Oct. 21," Fitzgerald said.

The offerings from local farmers change with the seasons. Gardeners will find bedding plants in May and June, while cherries, Dixon melons, tomatoes and corn start showing up in August or even later. Later has been the case this year because of cooler temperatures.

"Unlike corporate agriculture, family farms are run by people who live on the land and care deeply about it," the market's Web site says. "They protect the soil because it sustains them. Tomatoes are grown for flavor, not shelf life. Energy is saved when you buy food that was shipped a few miles, not a few thousand miles to the market. You, as a consumer, have a powerful voice in preserving Flathead Valley agriculture."

As many as 120 vendors show up at a time during the months of July and August, Fitzgerald said, and 200 vendors altogether register with the market master, Lynn Averill. More than $15,000 has been exchanged in a day.

Vendors work on an honor system, providing 5 percent of their gross to the market. Part of the money goes to insurance, promotions, an ad in the city's travel planner and the market's Web site, www.whitefishfarmersmarket.org.

"Whatever's left is being saved for some downtown project," Fitzgerald said.

That project has not yet been determined, and it might not be located in Depot Park, but it could be something big like a gazebo or a bandstand shell.

The original committee members are often seen Tuesdays at the market — Fitzgerald, Nancy Svennungsen, Jan Metzmaker, Sue Moll, Barb Brant, Pam Gerwe, Terri Feury and Jay DiPaola.

Svennungsen and Fitzgerald are members of the Heart of Whitefish, the downtown merchants association that actively supports the Downtown Master Plan and efforts to preserve the vitality of Whitefish's downtown retail core.

"Research says cities need to develop festivals and events to draw people to the downtown core," Fitzgerald said. "Often that's done by economic development offices, but in Whitefish that work falls to the Heart of Whitefish."

Fitzgerald points out that a farmers market provides an important secondary interest — connecting residents to the working lands and farmers.

"It also provides the freshest fruits and vegetables," she said, adding that her guests at the Garden Wall Bed and Breakfast are delighted with the produce she gets from the market.

Fitzgerald credits the city's parks and public works departments with helping get the market going. Big Mountain Insurance helped find an underwriter for the market, and proceeds from the first markets were used to purchase tents, tables, sandwich boards and other equipment.

"We have three tents — the headquarters tent, band tent and community tent," Fitzgerald said.

The community tent is used by different groups each week, from the growth policy steering committee last year to the supporters of the firefighters mill levy and the city dog park this year.

DiPaola is in charge of music, and he sets up his own equipment in the band tent ahead of time for guest musicians. New this year were the four Market Series concerts, which took place in the O'Shaughnessy after the market closed.

"They were very successful, and we hope to expand that next year," Fitzgerald said.

Also new this year is Cory Cullen's New World Recycling station, which will accept glass, an item many locals find difficult to recycle. Cullen will accept small amounts of glass for free and charge for larger amounts.

The market also holds a poster contest every year. T-shirts and canvas shopping bags with the winning design are sold in the headquarters tent. The winning designers are paid in "market money."

Fitzgerald said several downtown merchants have remarked about how business has picked up on Tuesday nights, including Great Northern Brewery and Markus Foods, where people may finish their grocery shopping that night.

"We think 2,000 to 3,000 people sometimes visit the market between 5 and 7:30 p.m.," Fitzgerald said. "We really have a tiger by the tail."