After several months of frantic planning and publicity, he and the committee responsible for Ellenville's Farmers Market are ready to see their hard work come to fruition this Sunday, June 10 at 10 a.m. when the “Market on Market” will be open for business.

“When you come down on Sunday, you will see everything that you expect to see when you think of a farm market,” said an excited Siegel. The market will boast sixteen vendors and will feature booths from local and non-local businesses. (See list below.)

A committee was created to review proposals from different vendors to make sure that there would be a wide variety of goods for people to choose from. Visitors to the market can expect to see everything from seafood, to fresh mozzarella, quiches, venison, wines, breads, organic chocolates, organic chicken, natural pet treats, to barbecue chicken and natural beauty products.

Each vendor's booth area will be 12' wide and 15' deep. And while the market will open at 10 a.m., vendors will start arriving at 9 a.m. to set up their spaces. Siegel said he feels pretty confident about the day's schedule but anticipates that there will be some snags. “We're going to know a lot after June 10. We are going to meet after the first Sunday to evaluate how everything went.”

Siegel explained his belief regarding the market's benefit to the area saying, “Farmers' markets offer communities hope. They offer traffic. They have been shown to do that.”

When asked about whether the farmers' market will face challenges with regards to competition from farm markets in Pine Bush, Kingston and New Paltz, Siegel responded, “Not even slightly. Twenty minutes is our benchmark for travel time and that excludes places like Pine Bush, Kingston and New Paltz. There is more than enough to go around.”

More importantly, Siegel feels that there is a call for the market in the Ellenville area. “The residents of this community deserve something like this. It's clear that the community wants it here. We've got a great group of people here that have really pulled together. And these are the types of products that Ellenville just doesn't have available to them.”

In addition to the more exotic vendors, the inclusion of several local businesses was another decision that the market group felt strongly about. Siegel said, “I made a point to speak with every business that could have even some relation to the market so that I could give them first crack.”

The Ellenville Farmers' Market will operate rain or shine every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and it is expected to last until October of this year depending on the weather.

The Ellenville Farmers Market Line-Up*

Aroma Thyme Bistro
Butternut Valley Organic
Byrd Farm
Davenport Farms
Highland Farms
Katherine's Korner
Kiss My Face
Lock 31
Natural Pet Treats
Panzerella Farms
Peters Market
Saunderskill Farms
Scoresby Fire Department
Stone Ridge Orchards
Whitecliff Winery

*A different not-for-profit group will be given a booth each week.

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