Weekend Break: ‘Something at the market for everyone’
Published 1:00 pm Friday, June 16, 2023
- Blackberry Bog Farm has been a vendor at the Seaside Farmers Market for nine years.
Angi Wildt’s advice to first-time market goers: live in the moment. “Breathe. Give yourself time to take it in. There will always be something at the market for everyone,” she said.
It’s Wildt’s eighth year as manager of the Seaside Farmers Market, with the market celebrating its 10th year.
Wildt’s work as market manager consists of coordinating, planning, hiring musicians during the market’s seasonal concert series, communicating with dozens of vendors and more.
“There are a lot of moving parts to the market. It’s kind of hard to share everything I do in a season,” she said.
Celebrating 10 years
Wildt has seen the market grow from its awkward first years. The pet-friendly market — which hosts more than 45 vendors on average each week — was created in the summer of 2014 by the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District.
The priority was to give opportunities for Seaside and surrounding areas with easy access to healthy, farm-fresh goods and produce.
“It was a perfect pairing to offer a market where we could provide support for our local farmers, and help them grow while giving our community healthy food options,” Wildt said.
Blackberry Bog Farm sells plant starts and produce. Owner Scott Thompson is in his ninth year at the market and remembers selling flower bouquets at the market’s previous location near the Seaside American Legion.
Thompson was an organizer in the early years of the market.
“I was involved in getting the market up and running. There were only a handful of vendors. A group of five of us met through the winter of 2013 to 2014 and got it organized,” he said. “The first couple of years were a struggle.”
Variety of vendors
Since then, the market has steadily grown. It now sees an average of 16,000 visitors each season — and Thompson has a loyal customer base.
Find farm-fresh produce, meet local artists, gather flowers, cards, baked goods, home decor and more at farmers markets throughout the Columbia-Pacific region. Check online for vendors, music schedules and more
Columbia Pacific Farmers Market
Noon to 5 p.m. Fridays, Veterans Field, 111 Third St., Long Beach
Manzanita Farmers Market
4 to 7 p.m. Fridays, Underhill Plaza, 635 Manzanita Ave., Manzanita
Clatskanie Farmers Market
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, 135 N. Nehalem St. Clatskanie
Ilwaco Saturday Market
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, Waterfront Way, Port of Ilwaco
Astoria Sunday Market
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays, 12th street between Exchange and Commercial streets, Astoria
Cannon Beach Farmers Market
1 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Cannon Beach City Hall, 163 Gower Ave., Cannon Beach
North Coast Online Farmers Market
Online farmers market, hosted by North Coast Food Web, 1152 Marine Drive, Astoria
“Over the years, we’ve built a solid base of regular customers and they’re very loyal. Even through the pandemic, we could count on them to come out and shop,” Thompson said.
The Seaside Farmers Market joins a group of many weekly coastal markets that are cleverly staggered throughout the region.
Seaside joins a handful of seasonal farmers markets in the Columbia-Pacific region, including in Astoria, Cannon Beach, Manzanita, Clatskanie, Long Beach and Ilwaco.
Allan Berry, founder and owner of Olivers Gourmet Co., operates a small family business that sells pickled garlic and other vegetables, hand-stuffed olives and cocktail mixes. Berry has been a vendor at the market for five years.
“We’ve got regulars that come down for pickled garlic. That’s what we’re famous for. We sample out all of our products and people are surprised and often say ‘oh, that’s very mild and delicious’ when they taste the garlic,” he said.
Elaine Fosse is another vendor celebrating five years at the Seaside Farmers Market.
She is the owner and founder of Fosse Farms, which sells salad dressings and shrub drinking vinegars. She sees not only the loyal weekly customers that come through the market but visitors to the region from near and far.
“Angi has grown this market over the years. She really cares about the vendors and customers. She tries to make sure everyone is happy. It’s a fun market and the variety of vendors is wonderful,” Fosse said.
“I can’t imagine a vibrant community like Seaside not having a market,” Wildt said. “There are pockets of people bumping into each other, catching up, hugging, dancing, meandering and creating nice memories.”
The market is held on Wednesdays from 2 to 6 p.m. in the Sunset Recreation Center parking lot, in season through late September.
A series of music performances brings new voices to the market each week, with upcoming concerts planned from local artists like Chasing Ebenezer, John Orr, Segrid Coleman, Brownsmead Flats and more.
2 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays, Sunset Recreation Center, 1120 Broadway, Seaside
www.seasidemarket.org
