STAR CITY — After a week’s delay, the Star City Farmers Market returned Friday for its second year of providing artisanal wares, fresh-off-the-farm produce and enticing refreshments to residents of the greater Morgantown area.
The second annual Star City Farmers Market was scheduled to begin its months-long setup at Edith Barill Riverfront Park on May 14 but was pushed back an additional week due to a paving project at the park.
On Friday, vendors had the opportunity to set up their canopies on a lot of fresh blacktop rather than the gravel that was present at last year’s market.
This year’s first market featured 28 vendors, including food vendors that were new to the Star City Farmers Market scene.
There were some veteran farmers market vendors in attendance as well.
Miranda Blair represented This and That Bakery, a bakery and catering company that services areas in both West Virginia and Pennsylvania. The business was present at last year’s farmers market but got a late start, joining the vendor lineup in September.
Blair said she was excited to see how the business would fair throughout the summer.
This and That Bakery participates in other farmers markets in Morgantown and Bridgeport, but Blair particularly enjoys being a part of the Star City Farmers Market.
“It’s lowkey. Everyone is getting off work. [With] the Saturday morning one, everyone is groggy, waking up. This is more of my kind of market,” she said.
Through their presence at the Star City Farmers Market, the business hopes to get their name out into the community. It has operated from the Bridgeport Farmers Market for close to 10 years and its desire to spread the word about its operation has grown since then.
Farmers market events also provide the bakery with an opportunity to experiment with new recipes, especially gluten-free and vegan options, to see how they will be received.
“We have a baker that actually lives in Star City, so close to home is great,” Blair said.
Another business, Bubbles, Bones and Biscuits, brought its selection of handmade, homemade, all-natural dog products to the first farmers market.
Co-owner Melissa Booth said the business decided to return to the farmers market for the second year in a row after it had a favorable experience at last year’s event.
“We had an amazing experience. It’s more of a street fair type of venue with food, last year at the end of the year they had music. [It’s] a really relaxed atmosphere [with] friendly people. [It’s] right near the trail so it’s perfect for us with folks walking their dogs. It’s just a great location,” she said.
Bubbles, Bones and Biscuits returned to the farmers market in the hopes of continuing to promote their business and gain local exposure for their canine commodities. The representatives of the business were also interested in meeting new people and talking about their furry friends.
“I highly recommend vendors to come to this event. It’s great. There’s plenty of space if a new vendor wants to come. Folks should come and check it out and support small business,” Booth said.
Situated directly across from the Bubbles, Bones and Biscuits canopy was a stand adorned with colorfully labeled bottles of olive oil. The station was manned by Deborah Yackel, a direct importer of premium olive oil from Italy.
Yackel brought her highly commended selection of olive oil to Star City early in last year’s farmers market run and said her experience at the event has been great.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for people to experience an olive oil that’s grown and produced in the same region. It’s very local and it’s an award-winning olive oil. All over the world it wins awards. So, I encourage people to give it a try,” she said.
Yackel feels that her presence at the farmers market has benefited her business without question. Individuals who purchase her olive oil at the market will find that her business card is attached to each bottle. She said that because the oil is so good, those people always come back and become frequent customers.
“It’s a wonderful mixture of different vendors and people come down here, I think, for some socialization because it’s so pretty on the river. It’s just a wonderful little farmers market,” she said.
The Star City Farmers Market is free to attend and will be held each Friday throughout the summer from 3 – 8 p.m. at Edith Barill Riverfront Park.
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