The Winter Farmers Market at Cole Gardens on Loudon Road began in a trial period as a once-a-month venture three years ago.
Last year, the market was held every other Saturday.
So what's in store for year three?
How about a market every Saturday from Jan. 7 through March 31?
“This will be the third year the market has been here, and it's been awesome. The response has been very positive,” Charlie Cole of Cole Gardens said. “People have a lot of fun. It's something to do on a cold winter day, coming indoors. There's a great selection of different products to choose from that you can go home and make for dinner or for lunch.”
There is indeed no shortage of items to choose from. There are 30-plus vendors generally in attendance, including about a dozen from Concord and the surrounding towns, and the items available range from root vegetables to sweets, dairy products and personal care items.
Mesclun mix and other fresh greens are prominant, Cole said, as are potatoes, carrots and turnips.
But the market also features donuts, soups, various meats and poultry, breads and pastries, jams and jellies, cheese, milk, coffee and fudge, even assorted homemade pet treats.
“We have a perfect situation where we have space that's available during the winter. It's a unique opportunity having a greenhouse that can hold such a venue,” Cole said. “Each vendor is promoting themselves, but in promoting themselves they are also promoting everybody else. Everyone is kind of helping each other out and promoting a market for everybody. It's a win-win situation.”
Demand has grown to the point that a weekly market is sustainable, Cole said. The market opens Jan. 7 and will run from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. every Saturday until March 21.
