PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County farmers markets are preparing to shift to their winter hours, starting with the Chimacum Farmers Market, which will host its final day Sunday.
In addition to Chimacum, the Port Townsend Farmers Market will shift to its winter hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. starting Nov. 2, and will close its stands for the season Dec. 21.
Chimacum Farmers Market will celebrate Halloween during its final day Sunday, operating from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Chimacum Corner Farmstand at 9122 Rhody Drive.
The market will have a costume contest, trick-or-treating with the vendors and inside the Farmstand, pumpkin painting and live music, said Amanda Milholland, Jefferson County Farmers Markets director.
The Halloween Farmers Market is one of my favorites that we host,” Milholland said. “It’s just a really fun, sweet market.
“Pretty much everyone gets a prize for the costume contest but we still love to have a contest because it’s just so fun for kids especially to look at each other’s costumes and think about which ones are most spooky or most farmers market themed or any other categories they come up with,” Milholland continued.
“It’s just a super sweet market. The Chimacum market in general has a really great feel and attracts a lot of families, so it’s a really fun way to end the season with a playful market theme that brings families out and encourages people to come out in costume.”
About 300 to 600 people visit the Chimacum Farmers Market each Sunday, Milholland said.
The Port Townsend Farmers Market is shifting to a later start time so that as the sun rises later, vendors have some light for setting up their stands, Milholland said.
“It’s really dark when we start to set up the market,” Milholland said. “I get to the market to set up starting at 6 a.m. during most of the season, and during this part of the season we are already using headlamps for most of our set up time.
“It’s really key for us to have a shorter market,” Milholland continued, “not keeping people in the elements as long and not setting up as long in the complete darkness of winter.”
The final day of the Port Townsend Farmers Market on Dec. 21 will play host to a holiday theme, and should see an increase in vendors, with some from earlier in the season returning and some from the Chimacum market joining as well, Milholland said.
The final day also will host a poetry reading from the community project, “Wording the Land.”
Poems inspired by food and farming will be gathered into an anthology available for sale at the farmers market information booth, Milholland said.
Poetry submissions are being accepted through the end of October at wordingtheland@gmail.com.
Proceeds from the Wording the Land anthology sales will support Jefferson County Farmers Market’s SNAP — Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — and other food access matching programs. This project is in partnership with Finnriver Farm & Cidery and with support from the Port Townsend Arts Commission.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
