Forest Park Cancels Farmers Market

With too few vendors signed on for the 2013 season, the Village of Forest Park has called off the Forest Park Farmers Market, the village announced Wednesday in a news release.

Community Center Director Karen Dylewski said in the statement, “I’m sorry this has happened but vendor participation is greatly down... We were only able to lock in six vendors for the season which is insufficient to make this successful.” 
 
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Last season the owner of Purple Leaf Farms, who had leased land from the village to grow her crops and sell them at the market, made a public plea for more community participation because sales were down and did not sign on for the 2013 season, according to the release. 

According to its website, Purple Leaf Farms is moving from its quater-acre lot in Forest Park to an acre in Elgin. 

“If you don’t have the customers, you lose vendors, but if you don’t have the vendors, you can’t attract the customers,” Dylewski said.

Dylewski added many of the vendors at the Oak Park Farmers Market didn't want to make the trip twice in one weekend for Forest Park on Fridays and Oak Park on Saturdays.

“Oak Park has a terrific farmers market and they are in such close proximity that we really don’t need to be in this business,” she said. “We gave it a gallant effort but I’m happy to leave it in their capable hands.”

Village and market officials last summer told Patch the future of the market was strong. Despite a slow start to the summer, market manager Denise Murray said in August, “Other than a couple of really bad hot-weather days—where we do our best to bring out sprinklers and cooling stations—the market has picked up tremendously from last year and immensely from the year before." 

The Forest Park Farmers Market was founded in 2010, serving as both as a fresh-food resource for residents and a way to supplement the village’s food pantry. Vendors are required to contribute either food or cash to the pantry. The market was a centerpiece in 2012 of the Village’s Live Healthy Forest Park initiative for offering both healthy foods and a reason to get outside and stretch one’s legs.

Forest Park Mayor Anthony Calderone said this is not the first time Forest Park attempted something of this sort. The Chamber of Commerce for a few years held a French Market, which "never really took off," he said. 

"I applaud Karen and her staff for working so hard to try and make this a go, but if it just doesn’t work, we need to move on.”

Michael Sewall contributed to this post.