Yes, Vienna there will be a Saturday Farmers Market

People have been saying that there will not be a Vienna Farmers Market this year.

The Managers of the Vienna Farmers Market and the Optimist Club of Greater Vienna take great pride and pleasure in announcing that YES, VIENNA there will be a Saturday Farmers Market!

Our new home for the Vienna Farmers Market is at 301 Center Street South – in the Faith Baptist Church Parking Lots. We are delighted and happy about our new home and cannot wait until May 4^th at 8 a.m. when the market opens for 2013.

The last few months have been interesting because with each email and telephone call we received asking about the market’s existence and begging us not to let it go it away we were reminded of the Virginia O’Hanlon letter and the resulting editorial in The New York Sun that sparked the nation’s interest in 1897 in Santa Claus (and we feel the same emotion about the Vienna Farmers Market).  Indeed the interest in the market from the community -- when the market was faced with having no home -- warmed our hearts and improved our own community spirit and drive. We are sad that our caboose lot location at Church Street is no longer available – but we are very excited about our new larger space on Center Street.

This year’s market will be larger at the Faith Baptist Church with both the front lot and in the back lots being used for the market. Also, we will have some designated street parking along the front of the church and some parking space in the first part of the back lot. We will run continuously from May 4^th to October 26^th from 8 a.m. to noon – rain or shine.

We have several new vendors signed up for this year including an organic mushroom vendor, The Mushroom Stand LLC, “Pit Beef Barbeque at the Market” and Caffe Amouri with more new vendors to come.

Special events planned for the market include monthly contests and giveaways, visits from a balloon artist and monthly events sponsored by the Faith Baptist Church just off the market space.

Here is a brief summary of plans for the first three months:

• May 4^th Opening Day: Bouncy House, Free Popcorn and Face Painting 
• June 8^th Game Day: Hula Hoop contests, tug of war, relays and sack races, egg toss with various small prizes
• July 13^th - Water Fun Day: Snow Cones, Watermelon Seed Spitting contest Water Balloon toss, sprinklers, slip n slide and wading pool for toddlers (no bikinis please since kids will be going through the market place. T-shirts and one-pieces are fine).

Stay tuned for more market updates as we get closer to opening day. I'll be at the green expo at the Vienna Community Center on April 18 which starts at 6 p.m. See you around the strawberry patch...Farmer SJ