The first ever 95th Street Farmers Market opened up on Thursday, June 7 in the parking lot of the 95th Street Library.
Vendors were there from 3 to 7 p.m. showing off their wares including baked goods, produce, and even butcher’s blocks.
“To reach a broader audience. More people get to walk by and see and it’s nice being a part of the community as well. And that’s what the farmers market kind of stands for,” said Two Rivers Butcher Block Owner Chris Hall.
The market was organized by the Naperville Park District in order to give people on the south side of town a weekly market of their own.
“I just think because we don’t have any other farmers markets down here,” said 95th Street Farmers Market Organizer Andrea Coates. “I think that we know that there’s people that want this. They’ve asked for it. It seems like farmers markets are really just booming all over the place and I think people are looking for it. So we just know there’s a void down here on the south end of town.”
And after their first scheduled start date was rained out, the St. John’s Farmers Market was finally able to welcome shoppers.
Along with many of the usual suspects, vendors were also there selling unique products like honey, lavender, and even popcorn.
“We just love the kids and the adults too,” said Papa’s Natural Honey Owner Ed Laukitis. “They come back and they always want to know what we’ve got that’s new. And we always try to come up with something new. This year we came up with the hot honey and the blueberry and we’re really excited about that. I don’t know what we’re going to do next year but we’ll figure something out.
The market had food to eat there, as well as options to take home to the dinner table. Plus, plenty of free samples all in the spirit of charity.
“This is the sixth year we’ve done it,” said St. John’s Farmers Market Organizer Birnie Harper. “It’s a project originally the outreach board of this church to raise money for some of the various local charities that we support.”
The St. John’s market is open from 3 to 7 p.m. every Wednesday.
And if two weren’t enough – there’s a third market on Saturdays at 5th Avenue Station. That one’s called the Naperville Farmers Market, and is open from 7 a.m. to noon.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.
