Get ready to eat your rainbow: the Greenport Farmers’ Market is back for its second official season this Friday.
Once again centrally situated in Mitchel Park, this year brings a few new vendors, great music and the feel-good community vibe that flourishes in this seaport town.
“We’re really happy to have it central to village in this beautiful location, where everyone can wander downtown and pick up fresh produce,” says market manager Paul Livesey who, along with Peter Trieber of Trieber Farms, spearheaded the return of the market last year.
Greenport’s greenmarket has come and gone in fits and starts over the years, never quite finding the right location for either convenience or long-term approval and, prior to last season’s relaunch, had been dormant for years. Livesey and Trieber’s idea to gather local purveyors right on Front Street was key in making it accessible and easy to get to and peruse.
The decision to make it a true farmers market — there are no other merchandise venders in the mix — was a purposeful one, allowing the focus and spotlight to stay on the East End’s bounty and those who provide it. “There are no arts and crafts at this,” says Livesey, “just good food vendors!”
While prior incarnations of the market operated on Saturdays, Livesey and Trieber took a chance on Friday afternoons, which has proven to be a smart pick. “We chose Friday afternoons because farmers have other commitments on the weekend and secondly, we received good feedback from people in the community, saying it was great to be able to shop on a Friday so they know what they had for the weekend.”
Sponsored by the Friends of Mitchell Park, this year’s market has many of the vendors who participated last year, including Treiber Farms, Clark’s Island Seafood, 1610 Sourdough, Mecox Bay Dairy cheese, Horman’s Best Pickles, Consider Bardwell cheese, Golden Acres Organic Farm, Mattituck Mushrooms and NoFo Cattle.
Exciting new additions to the line-up this year include Deep Dive Farm, Disset Chocolate, Fields of Dough, Soul Creations and Eggcellent Quiche.
“We have over 20 produce vendors including fruit and vegetables, meat, seafood, cheese, bread and baked goods, wineries, pickles and preserves, flowers etc.,” says Livesey. “We will have live music, too.”
Sponsored by Friends of Mitchell Park, this Friday’s musical entertainment to kick off the season will be the acoustic performers Ron and Fuhr Men.
“It was really well attended last year and all the venders were happy with how it went,” says Livesey. “That’s most important to me.”
The market, which is rain or shine, will run Fridays, 2 to 5:30 p.m. from Memorial Day Weekend through the fall.
