Locals can fill their shopping bags with greens, root vegetables and farm-raised proteins at Sunday’s Bridgeport Farmers Market regular season debut.

 

Also available will be hand-crafted pottery and woodwork items, as well as organic soups, baked goods and dog treats. And that’s all just a drop in the bucket as to offerings, said Bridgeport Farmers Market President Debbie Workman.

 

“We have 30 confirmed vendors and are still waiting to hear back from four more,” she said. “With live music by Rus Reppert, market-style brunch, cooking demonstrations and yoga, it’s more than we have ever started a season with.”

 

Instructing on-site yoga will be Meg Shaver, who teaches weekly classes at Riversong Spa. For a donation to her program, she will teach yoga basics on the farmers market lawn. The noon-time class is a nice addition to market action, Workman said. Most of the workout will be done standing, but participants are asked to bring their own mats for floor work. The class is expected to last 30 minutes or less.

With regard to shopping, market goers can browse products offered by nearly three dozen vendors, many of whom have reached out to Bridgeport Farmers Market.

 

“We’ve kind of hit that point where we don’t seem to have to go out and find vendors. They’re coming to us,” Workman said. “Probably for the last six weeks, not a day has gone by that we didn’t get a phone call or email from somebody who was interested.”

 

The market is interested in vendors representing small farms throughout the state.

 

“The only time we would go outside West Virginia is if a product was not available here,” she said.

 

The market’s main focus always has been and continues to be local foods, but artisans and bakers have been added, providing a balanced mix, she said.

 

Artisans are selected on a juried basis, with four participating vendors having been Tamarack approved.

 

“That includes West Fork Pottery, Jughead Pottery, Chef Bare Bowls and Mountain Momma Organics, which just got in with their bean soup,” Workman said.

 

Produce wise, offerings at this Sunday’s market will include fresh greens, lettuces, beats, carrots, potatoes and strawberries.

 

“We’ll also have lots of starter plants, such as tomatoes and berry bushes, as well as flowers and herbs,” Workman said.

 

With just six days until go time, organizers are busy tying up loose ends.

 

“We’ve done our truck maintenance and we’ve purchased new tents. We’re working out electrical needs and putting our layout together,” Workman said. “Vendors, of course, are busy either with their crops or making and baking things.”

 

The Bridgeport Farmers Market atmosphere is very kid-friendly and dog-friendly. Canine visitors will enjoy one of the market’s newest vendors, Healbilly Hound Treats out of Jane Lew, specializing in grain-free dog treats.

 

Three dining tents will be available for enjoying a market-style brunch prepared by Bridgeport Conference Center and Fish Hawk Acres.

 

Rus Reppert will be firing up his tunes and 2013 Country Roads Cook-Off winner Chris Stearns will be providing an 11 a.m. cooking demonstration – that food item yet to be determined.

“That’s the beauty of it. He will make whatever is available at the market that day.”

 

Reusable shopping bags, courtesy of Josh Halstead Farm Family Insurance, are provided on limited basis. Shoppers are encouraged to bring their own bags.

 

Starting Sunday, markets will be held weekly. By mid-June, produce offerings will expand to include peppers, tomatoes and squash. In peak season – mid-July through September – a plethora of other crops will be available. Bridgeport Farmers Market is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays at the marketplace at Charles Pointe.

 

The start of the market's regular season also means the weekly appearance of Bob Workman's "Let's Get Fresh" blog. Look for it here on Connect-Bridgeport each Sunday morning and keep apprised of weekly market happenings and offerings.