Fruits and vegetables and baked goods, oh my!
The Conover Farmers Market, in downtown, aims to provide high-quality, locally grown fruits and vegetables, along with baked goods, crafts and flowers, to customers every Saturday.
The market, which is open from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each week, is in its first year, but is already seeing great success.
"We have more than 20 vendors each week," said market manager Julie Lehmann.
The vendors all come from within a 125-mile circumference, according to Lehmann, and all go through an application process to ensure the products are locally grown and of high quality. The market has vendors from Taylorsville, Vale, Fairmont, Denver and Mocksville.
The market also sees customers from local and distant areas. Lehmann said in addition to many visitors from the Hickory and Conover areas, they also have had visitors from surrounding states and, one weekend, from Alaska and Canada.
Lehmann said around 170 to 200 people of all ages stroll through the market each week.
To please their diverse customer base, the market provides entertainment for everyone. For adults, there is live music. For kids, the market sponsors presentations by various community groups, such as an acrobatics show by the Shooting Stars gymnastics team and an Animal Rescue program about adopting pets.
In addition to these events, the market has themes each week. In upcoming weeks, the market will have Hot Pepper Day, Ugliest Vegetable Day and Blueberry Day, which will feature recipes and samples incorporating the featured produce.
The themes were created not only to make the market more fun, but also to help expand the culinary horizons of customers, who, according to Lehmann, tend to rely on one specific type of each vegetable.
"We try to get people to look beyond the name … to appreciate the value of the fruit," she said.
This October, among other themed Saturdays, the market hopes to host "Octoberfest," which will feature products from 10 North Carolina wineries, entertainment, food and music.
The market also allows one nonprofit group to set up a booth each week. This summer, groups such as 4H, the Children's Advocacy Center, and the North Carolina Agricultural Extension will have the chance to inform market customers about issues and projects in the Conover and farming and gardening communities.
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