Mitchell Park is Greenport’s hub for music, harbor views, fairs and festivals — so it’s perhaps no surprise that the waterfront oasis will soon be home to the North Fork’s newest farmers market.
The Greenport Farmers Market, which kicks off Friday, May 17, from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., is a labor of love for several North Forkers, including village resident Paul Livesey and Treiber Farms owner Pete Treiber Jr.
“Greenport has had markets in the past,” says Livesey, a UK native with a background in finance who recently earned his US citizenship. “None of them have really been front and center and visible right in the downtown of the village. The challenge for us was to get approval at Mitchell Park. We wanted it right in the center of the village. It’s such a beautiful location … for us, it was about showcasing Greenport as much as it was about the farmers.”
The Greenport Farmers Market will focus exclusively on food and drink, so while there won’t be any candles, lotions or household crafts for sale, there will be plenty of artisanal, local produce.
“The real drive of this is to promote the farming heritage here on the North Fork,” Livesey says. “We’re blessed with so many great farms and fishermen and producers, it’s really about promoting them and helping keep the farming heritage on the North Fork and give residents one-stop, walkable access to all of that produce. It’s a win-win for the community as much as it is for the farmers.”
The response has been incredibly supportive, with the Friends of Mitchell Park offering to sponsor the market in hopes of eventually adding more family-fun activities as the season progresses. Some ideas that have been floated, but not formalized, include live music, a children’s reading hour and yoga classes.
Livesey worked closely with Treiber on the logistics of getting approval to host the market from Greenport officials, as well as with planning the weekly events.
“It all started with a dream,” says Treiber with a laugh. “I moved out here in 2016 and the first farmers market we ever did with Treiber Farms was indoors in Greenport.”
Treiber Farms chiefly sells wholesale to restaurants while on site sales are mostly self-serve, so Treiber is excited to get in front of the community. He also notes that while the South Fork is home to dozens of farmers markets, the only regularly scheduled North Fork market is in Riverhead.
“I’m so excited to be downtown and be visible and meet people and share our story,” Treiber says. “And I think that’s what a lot of other people are psyched about as well.”
The Greenport Farmers Market is scheduled to run Friday afternoons from 3 p.m to 6 p.m from May 17 through October. Check out the full list of vendors below, and follow @greenportfarmers on Instagram.
- Treiber Farms
- Mecox Bay Dairy Farm
- Clark’s Island Seafood
- North Fork Cattle Co.
- Davy Jones Shellfish
- TVA Microgreens
- 1610 Sourdough
- Golden Acres Organics
- Mattituck Mushrooms
- Backyard Blooms
- The Clamity Janes
- Greenport Jerky Co.
- Bayberry Bakery
- KK’s The Farm
- Matchbook Distilling
- North Fork Flower Farm
- Horman’s Best Pickles
- Honeybody Bakery
- Goodness Dairy
- Sylvester Manor
- Dos Ositos Paletas
- The Farm at Coastal Logistics
- Alpina Bakery
- Macari Vineyards
- Sparkling Pointe
