DEM to Hold Grand Opening Celebration at Pier 9 Farmers Market

Get your fresh fish dockside today.

The Department of Environmental Management's Division of Agriculture will hold a grand opening celebration at the Pier Nine Farmers Market in Newport on Friday, Aug. 19, between 2 and 6 p.m.

The Pier Nine Farmers Market, a collaborative effort with the Pier Nine Fishermen, is the newest farmers' market in the state and in a beautiful location at the edge of Newport Harbor.

The event will feature a cooking demonstration by chefs from Kids First, who will show how to prepare the many vegetables and fruits grown on Rhode Island farms, cook up local favorites, and teach healthy cooking to market-goers, rain or shine.

A Celtic band will play music to enhance the festive atmosphere at the Grand Opening event.

Funding for the Grand Opening has been provided through a federal grant to the RI Rural Development Council from the US Department of Agriculture, which Senator Jack Reed was instrumental in obtaining.

Several vendors, including four farmers, a baker, and Pier Nine lobstermen, will be selling locally grown vegetables, fruits, home-baked goods, and freshly-harvested local lobsters.

DEM Director Janet Coit is scheduled to attend the event at 2 p.m.

“This collaboration with the Pier Nine fisherman is one of our efforts to add economic value to the Rhode Island fishing industry by supporting and bringing attention to local fisheries,” said Director Coit, who noted that the Pier Nine Farmers' Market builds upon the success of the lobster shack constructed last year by Pier Nine Fisherman with permission of DEM. 

The Pier Nine Farmers Market will be open every Friday from 2 to 6 p.m. through October.

In addition to the availability of native vegetables and fruits, baked goods, fresh lobsters, and kettle corn, the Pier Nine farmers market is also the pick-up site for a community supported fishery program operated by Ocean State Fresh (www.oceanstatefresh.com).

Senior Farmers Market Coupons can be redeemed at the market, and SNAP coupons will be able to be redeemed at a later date. Shoppers can validate their parking tickets inside the Newport Visitors Center, 23 America's Cup Avenue, for a free half-hour of parking at the Center.

DEM operates nine farmers markets in state parks and state facilities throughout Rhode Island. In addition to locally-grown vegetables and fruits, among the items available for purchase at the farmers markets include Rhode Island meats and seafood, baked goods, bedding plants, hanging plants, cut flowers, honey and maple syrup. The farmers markets in DEM-operated parks and other state facilities are as follows:

• Fishermens' Memorial State Park Farmers Market in Narragansett, Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Johnston Farmers Market at Memorial Park on Route 6 (Hartford Avenue), Mondays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Blackstone River Visitor Center Farmers Market on Rt. 295 North in Lincoln, Tuesdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Haines Memorial State Park Farmers Market on Route 103 on the East Providence/Barrington line, Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Capitol Hill Farmers Market in Providence, Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Goddard Memorial State Park Farmers Market in Warwick, Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Pastore Complex Farmers Market in Cranston, Fridays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• State Pier Nine Farmers Market in Newport, Fridays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Colt State Park Farmers Market in Bristol, Fridays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.        

Get more information

• The Pier Nine Farmers Market will be open every Friday from 2 to 6 p.m. through October.
• DEM Farmers Markets accept farmers market checks from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) administered by the Department of Health.
• The successful Senior Farmers' Nutrition Program administered by DEM is also being offered this year, with coupons available at senior centers throughout the state. To qualify for the program, persons 60 or older make a simple self-declaration of income based on household size. DEM coordinates the program in conjunction with the RI Department of Elderly Affairs.
• DEM's Division of Agriculture and Resource Marketing, which helps farmers with marketing information, offers a free brochure that lists the locations of all farmers markets and roadside stands, along with addresses, hours, days and months of operation, and telephone numbers. To obtain a free brochure, or participate in the state farmers markets, please contact the Division of Agriculture at 222-2781. The brochure is also available on DEM's Web site, www.dem.ri.gov, by clicking on “Agriculture in Rhode Island” on the left side of the homepage, then “For Consumers,” then “Farmers' Markets.”