The following is a column written by Ashland Main Street’s Executive Director Sandra Tunnell.
ASHLAND — Hello, friends, how are you all doing? If you are looking for that elusive return to normalcy, we have just the solution for you.
We are super excited to share that our Ashland Main Street calendar is starting to open up, and the first thing on our agenda is our Downtown Farmers Market. These begin Wednesday, June 3 and continue every Wednesday throughout the summer from 3:30 to 5:30.
Nothing says summer to us like picking out fresh produce, baked goods and crafts from the people who grew, baked and made it themselves, being outdoors and spending time with friends.
Our farmers market has that in spades, so clear your Wednesday afternoon calendar and come down and see us.
There are a few tweaks to our market from last year that you should be aware of. First, one thing we did change in 2019 and will maintain is our relatively new location. Instead of being in lot B, tucked behind the income tax building, we are now out in the open on Claremont Avenue, in the parking lot Ashland Main Street shares with the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce. Address there is 211 Claremont Avenue.
It is still incredibly accessible. You can get to us easily, and you can see us better, too, so when you are cruising along Claremont, you have no excuse not to pop in and pickup some treats.
Another tweak is that we will be going back to our original hours of 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. We heard from many of you that you need time to get to us after work, and we want you to get to us, too, so staying open a little bit later it is. Although, as many of you know, people start setting up at 11, so if you are downtown for lunch, you are welcome to pick up all your market needs then.
Speaking of changes means, of course, we are also going to talk about our friend — Mr. COVID. We will have hand sanitizer available at the entrance of the market, and we will mark off six foot sections in our parking lot. Safety is the name of the game, and we expect people to follow CDC and health department guidelines. We know that you all will be considerate, courteous, and kind to your fellow vendors and shoppers.
Every year, we send out letters to our previous farmers market vendors inviting them back for this year, and field calls from many people who would like to join us. If you have ever thought about flexing your baking, gardening, or crafting muscles, this summer is the perfect time to try out being a farmers market vendor.
All we ask of you is to show up, sell great stuff, and at the end of the day, we will ask for 10 percent of your sales to defray our costs and support downtown Ashland projects. In return, you get to show off your skills, make some money, spend the afternoon outside and meet new people. It’s a pretty sweet gig.
Having run this market for nine years now, the part we are most looking forward to is seeing the people. Every meeting I’ve been in for the past few weeks has run on for hours afterwards, because we are all so excited to see people and talk to them live, socially-distanced and in-person.
We are super excited to see you all, and see you all being able to see each other — and buying lots of stuff, of course.
We look forward to seeing you all at the market next Wednesday (and every Wednesday through the summer), and you know that we’ll see you downtown.
