New Port Richey farmers market opens Saturday

By Jodie Tillman, Times Staff Writer
In print: Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Story Tools E-mail this story Contact the editor Print this story Comment on this story Social Bookmarking [+] Digg Facebook Stumbleupon Reddit Del.icio.us Newsvine

ADVERTISEMENT

NEW PORT RICHEY — Plans for a downtown farmers market finally are bearing fruit, with the first event scheduled for Saturday.

The market at Cavalaire Square will feature about a dozen vendors selling everything from local fruit and organic coffee to orchids and salsas.

The first market, which will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, is a "soft opening" for what organizers hope will become a weekly event, said Judy DeBella Thomas, a newly elected City Council member and the executive director of Greater New Port Richey Main Street, which is putting on the event.

The Main Street program plans to hold the market every Saturday in May.

Organizers hope to continue holding the event through the summer, then evaluate the market's success, she said.

Thomas said she expects more vendors to join as the event gets established. Vendors pay a weekly fee of $10.

The New Port Richey market is kicking off just as other farmers markets, including the one at the Longleaf community in Trinity, are closing for the summer. Thomas said she hopes that timing will work to New Port Richey's advantage: She expects vendors at the Longleaf event, for instance, to come to New Port Richey.

"We anticipate going through the summer," she said. "But it's a vendor- and customer-driven market."

Organizers may eventually add some music and open the market to crafts vendors, though they have decided not to have anyone selling meals. The idea, Thomas said, is to get shoppers to stop for lunch at downtown restaurants.

This isn't the first farmers market downtown. There was one about a decade ago that fizzled out. Former mayor Pete Altman, who helped spearhead the event at that time, has attributed the problems to the market's evolution into more of a trade show than a produce market.

Main Street program officials last fall resurrected the idea of a weekend market, citing suggestions from residents as well as a growing interest in organic and local foods.

City Manager Tom O'Neill said he was hopeful that this one would last. He said he hopes downtown restaurants, for instance, will want to buy fresh produce from the market.

"It's a great thing," he said.

Jodie Tillman can be reached at (727) 869-6247 or jtillman@sptimes.com.