Shoreline Farmers' Market moving to improved location
Monday, April 27, 2015
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| Shoreline Farmers' Market opens June 20 |
New location of market will be part of development concept for Aurora Square
By Dominique Etzel
On June 20, The Shoreline Farmers' Market will open for the season in its new location next to Sears and the Central Market in Aurora Square where the city hopes to turn a basic parking lot into a creative event venue.
The farmers' market is partnering with the City of Shoreline’s Economic Development Department to support Phase Zero, the planning phase of the development concept for Aurora Square.
Fior, who sits at the table at the development meetings, said Sears rests on a 70-acre lot zoned as a Community Renewal Area. Changes will be made for residents to use the empty parking lot, including adding stage space and a promenade for the farmers' market to exist permanently. What is now a parking lot in city center will be transformed into a place for the community to gather.
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| The Shoreline Farmers Market will be located in the parking lot at Sears. Photo by Dominique Etzel |
The Shoreline Farmers' Market was created in 2012 by a group of community members who envisioned a market for residents of Shoreline and the surrounding communities, giving them the opportunity to support local vendors.
Marshall Petryni of Patty Pan Cooperative, a local vendor for the last three seasons, said he looks forward to working with new vendors and the Farmers' Market Association for the coming year.
“I think the farmers market is taking off more and more, growing, and I think having it over there [Aurora Square] is nice,” said Petryni. “You have the grocery store there and some options for purchasing produce and things like that. It’s all kind of like a one-stop shop.”
After original plans to site the market on City Light land in front of City Hall, the market went to a temporary location on the upper deck of the City parking garage for three years.
With the new location next to the Central Market, Fior thinks the market will double the number of attendees from last year, when there was an average of around 1,000 people per Saturday at Shoreline City Hall.
The market is now located less than one mile from I-5 and one block from Aurora.
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| Natalia Fior, new Market Manager, shows where the vendors will be located. Photo by Dominique Etzel |
Fior hopes that the farmers market will increase from 30 vendors in previous years to around 35 to 40 vendors. Vendors returning from last year include Growing Washington, Samish Bay Cheese, and Martin Family Orchard. The Market will continue to book musicians to serenade shoppers. Two food trucks will be a standard feature.
"I’m just looking forward to the festival attitude that we are trying to paint at the market. I love being in public spaces, places for people to come gather,” Said Fior. “So that’s probably the coolest part for me, having a place where farmers can come meet their customers and residents can come and actually meet the people who produce their food.”
The Shoreline Farmers' Market will take place every Saturday from 10am to 3pm, June 20 until October 3 at 15300 Westminster Ave N in Aurora Square.
Corrected market end date 04-28-2015 3:57pm
Corrected Sears info 04-28-2015 8:52pm
Corrected market end date 04-28-2015 3:57pm
Corrected Sears info 04-28-2015 8:52pm
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3 comments:
There is no such proposal to change the zoning so the community may gather, the zoning is already in place. This is nothing but propaganda being put out by City Hall. A citizen proposal for a gathering place that would address flooding issues in the Sears parking lot (which is the headwaters of Boeing Creek) was shot down by the Economic Development director at the public hearing on Aurora Square.
Temporary location? Don't you mean failed location, sitting atop an invisible garage behind a prison gray city hall, tucked behind the anchor of Shoreline's visionary civic center, Walgreen's? No worries. Relocating it to the City-proclaimed hub of economic blight, Sears, I am sure the Farmer's Market will create considerable caché.
The market should open earlier, since some of us who needs to do our shopping and go run errands for the rest of the day and can't make it back to the market by 3 pm or need gifts or flowers for friends, family, or special events early in the morning. Opening at 10am makes it difficult for us because the vendors can't sell to us earlier than the time set and we can't wait til the market opens to buy the things we need and head out to start the rest of our days. I think it would be better if the market opens at latest 9am, or at least let the vendors sell whenever they are ready. Other than that the market has been looking great as the years progresses, looking forward to this years market season at the new location.
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