The word is out. Ellenville is the home of a new farmers' market. "When I think of a farmers' market, I think consumers want to have a sensory experience," says Michael Siegel, the event's coordinator, "I think we've accomplished that."

On Sunday morning people gathered as more than merchants in three locations prepared to sell their goods at an event that would instantly become a local success. Though the Ellenville Farmers' "Market on Market" did not officially begin until 10 a.m., customers eyed and sampled goods, impatiently awaiting.

The idea for a farmers' market in the village was suggested to Michael Siegel earlier this year by Village Mayor Jeffery Kaplan, and Village Manager Elliott Auerbach. The men, accompanied by Sam Bugna of Lock 31, sat down to lunch one day and formed the committee. Afterwards the committee met regularly, and the event began to form. "It didn't look like we were going to have a farmers' market for a while," confesses Siegel, "At first we were not getting a lot of responses from vendors." Thanks to the diligence of dedicated committee members, vendors were found.

"The committee was so diverse," says member Asha Golliher, "I think they kept this in mind when they were asking people to participate." Asha's husband, Reverend Golliher was asked to be on the committee, and Asha instantly expressed interest. "I wanted to be on the committee, simply because of my interest in the community, explains Asha, "I'm so excited… we're so excited with the turnout."

Though the event was nearly seamless, there are a few "small operational issues" to work out during the upcoming weeks. "We're going to work on promotion and signage in the streets," explains Siegel, "and we're going to work with the Liberty Square vendors, who may relocate to the third location." Joanna Rookey and George Halcomb, whose tents were located at the Hunt Memorial grounds, felt a bit overlooked; "I think the event may be more effective if it were slightly more consolidated," explained Hal-comb, an Accord photographer, "I feel a little isolated over here."

"I think there is stuff we can do to improve, but we focused on the right things first," explained Siegel; "One sure sign of our success is that all of the vendors were happy." Among the twenty-plus vendors present at the day's festivities were local farms and restaurants, an area-winery, Peters Market and the Shadowland Theatre; local produce, gourmet candles, natural makeup, crafts and antiques were on display.

After only an hour of business, Jessica and Renee Schoonmaker, of Saunderskill Farm, ran out of produce. After a brief run to their Accord store, the girls returned with three-times the amount they originally had brought, only to run out again. It is rumored that other vendors, such as Burd Farm, Peters Market and Whitecliff Winery also sold-out of products.

"We had a steady stream of traffic all day," says Siegel, "The group had a good plan and worked hard on it -- we did as good a job as we could have done and the day was an absolute success."

The Ellenville Farmers' Market on Market will operate rain or shine every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., June-October.

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