Well, the 2015 Summer Bridgeport Farmers Market is in the books! The last weekly outdoor Sunday market took place on October 11^th, and more than 100 BFM board members, volunteers, vendors and supporters celebrated the successful year, while raising funds to support the market, with a community dinner on October 22^nd.  

 

Thanks to everyone who attended the Community Dinner.  We rely on these dinners to raise most of the funds necessary to operate the market, and without your support of them the BFM wouldn’t be possible.

 

It was a good year, with sales and attendance setting new records.  The BFM was named the #1 market in West Virginia and one of the top 40 markets in the country. The Power of Produce Club was a huge success, engaging more than 300 are kids in learning about and eating more produce.  Chef’s demos every week from chefs from throughout the region, and entertainment from a wide variety of great area musicians made each week’s market into a festival! Add special events like the Country Roads Cookoff, Dog Day at the Market, and more, and it’s easy to see why the BFM consistently raises the bar on every farmers market in the state.

 

We all miss our weekly trips to the market, but here’s the good news: The Bridgeport Farmers Market moves indoors beginning this Sunday, November 8^th, from 11AM to 2 PM, and this year’s Winter Market promises to be better than ever.

 

Get a Jump on Your Holiday Gift Giving and Your Holiday Menu

 

Like it or not, Christmas is just around the corner and Thanksgiving is even closer!  So make it easy on yourself!  Take a few hours this Sunday to make this holiday season the best ever.

 

The November 8^th Winter Market will feature 38 vendors, thanks to a new layout at the Conference Center that opens up more vendor space. We’ll have lots of produce thanks to an increased use of high tunnels and greenhouses, a variety of meat vendors, and a huge selection of arts and crafts.  You’ll find gifts for virtually everyone on your list, including your pet, and a terrific variety of food items that will enrich all your holiday meals.

 

What makes buying at the BFM special? Well, for one thing, every gift you buy there is unique and has a story attached – about the person who made it, about the materials used, about the place it came from.  And the produce and protein you purchase is fresher, healthier and tastier than what we’ll find at the chain grocery.

 

Buying at the BFM is also great fun – we get to see friends and have dozens of conversations.  In fact, research has shown that shoppers at farmers markets have between 20 and 40 times as many social interactions as at a chain grocery.

 

And shopping at the farmers market builds our local economy.  That gift you buy from a local vendor will keep between three and four times as much of that money in the area compared to a gift from a chain retailer.

 

If you’ve never been to the Winter Market, you owe it to yourself to check out one of the region’s hottest scenes.  If you have been to Winter Market in the past, you’ll find this year’s Winter Markets take that experience to a whole new level.

 

And be sure to put December 13^th on your calendar – that’s the next Winter Market and your next great opportunity for some of the best holiday shopping in the region.