Market History

When I first laid eyes on my little slice of heaven that I call

R-evolution Gardens it occurred to me that Manzanita needed a

farmers market. Here was 5 acres that in my mind was going to

be magically transformed from 12 foot tall blackberry tangle to
fertile rows of annual veggies and fruit trees. Where was I going

 to sell all this bounty?  Locally.  That meant we needed to have

a place farmers could gather in our coastal town to offer up the

goods on a weekly basis.  I had been organizing 3rd Saturday Art

Walks in Manzanita as president of the Manzanita Merchants

Association (at the time I owned a fair trade store on Laneda Ave.)

These art walks were held in the evening in the summer months and

featured live music up and down Manzanita's main ave, free samples

of food, art and spontaneous dance, drumming and sidewalk chalk.

I thought they were great-but it was exhausting to organize essentially a town wide

event over 5-6 blocks every month.  I had to stop the overwhelming work of the Art

walks but our town still needed a summer evening event with music and art and I now

was a budding farmer- so The Manzanita Farmers Market was an idea whose time had come. 

I was at a meeting of the merchants association being held in the upper level of the
Windemere building and all these thoughts were swirling in my mind as we planned for
the season ahead.  As I gazed out the window I noticed how amazing Kay and Walt
Coverts Windemere parking lot was. Located right on Laneda Ave, across from public
bathrooms, and with a beautiful tree gracing the middle a lovely shady landscaped
lot.  At the end of the meeting I asked Kay and Walt if they would consider having a
farmers market in their parking lot and they without hesitation said "Yes, we would
love that."  That is why we love Kay and Walt!  They are amazing community minded
supportive folks who subsquently have donated their parking lot and the market's
electricity use for 4 years running.   

After the lot had been secured it didn't take long to assemble a crack team of
market organizer volunteers.  Our market board members were, and continue to be, a
great mix of merchants, producers and community folks.  Rich Kennedy and Sherri
Raschio were recruited from the Lower Nehalem Community Trust's community gardens- I
had  a brief stint as the LNCT gardens manager and met these two volunteering their
hearts out in the name of local food.  Craig Mackie avid gardener and produce
manager at Mother Natures Natural Foods jumped on board, Fawn Russo- a natural
health professional, yoga teacher and massage therapist joined, Julianne Johnson,
Bunny Frost represented our local merchants, local musican Beth Basile volunteered
to coordinate all the live bands for the season. What a great team! 

We organized the vendors, advirtising and all the little extras like apple adorned
matching aprons and pots of petunias for the outdoor seating area.  Sherri Raschio
worked like it was her daughter's wedding to make sure opening night was perfectly
organized and spectacular.  The locals came in droves, the mayor of town arrived on
a firetruck and cut the opening ribbon and local Tsunami Drummers played the first
of the now traditional opening marketplace drum. The ribboned baskets shoppers were
handed were piled full of bread, pies, strawberries, local meats, organic produce,
plant starts and homemade soaps.  Local burgers made with Lance's grass fed beef and
crepes made with Hank's strawberries were munched down and the sushi cart had a line
down the block.  The market was a huge Friday night party and a new local food
tradition was born. Some stunning success stories from our first year include:
Billie from Nehalem Bay Pie Co. was able to quit her job
 at  the bank and open her dream pie shop (now expanded and thriving year round in
Manzanita); Rei Nami Sushi went from cart to downtown sushi restaurant; and after
observing our market's success, the village to our north called Cannon Beach opened
their very own farmers market on Tuesday afternoons the following year.  

We haven't slowed down a bit since we opened way back in 2006!  We now have over 30
vendors, a full time paid market manager, and a new team of board members and
volunteers who have the market running like a well oiled farm tractor!  I am still
on the board and so is Craig, Bill Peek has joined us this year along with Franz
Hassalacher of Ekahni Books.  Laura Swanson is in her second year as market manager
and is doing a fabulous job. In 2010 we were able to close off part of the adjoining
5th street for more vendors, add to our sponsor poles, secure a grant from PUD to
light up the market at night and offer a rotating wine and cheese vendor area. I
want to thank everyone who has played a part in making this market happen.  There
are hundreds of volunteers, sponsors, vendors, shoppers, city government officials,
business owners, neighbors and especially the farmers who make this a great event to
visit every Friday from June- September.  

I am now farming full time for a living, producing organic veggies for our coastal
markets.  I feel so fortunate to be able to sell my food to our local community less
than 9 miles from where it is grown.  Locally grown food is the heart of the
sustainable community we are striving to create here on the north Oregon coast. We
welcome you to join in to this joyous celebration of the abundant fields, orchards,
rivers and pastures of our home.

If you are interested in a vendor space, becoming a friend of the market, sponsor, or volunteering at the market, please contact us or fill out an application.