LAKEPORT — The Fairgrounds on 401 Martin Street is now the permanent home for the Saturday Lake County Farmers’ Finest Farmers Market.
Cornelia Sieber Davis, the market manager since 2008, appeared to smile beneath her mask, happy to tell anyone within social distance that the market has found its forever home. “It has been a dream of ours to have a year-round market for a long time. When the Lake County Fair approached us after it became apparent that Steele Wines was not going to open back up, we envisioned it would encourage more Lake County farmers to grow full time.”
Davis also pointed out the booths featuring pears. “We’re celebrating the Pear Festival since that’s been postponed until next year.”
“It occurred to me that what is really missed during this pandemic are our annual festivals and traditions such as the Pear Festival, so I decided to hold a mini version of these events at the market,” said Davis. “It was touching to hear how important the Pear Festival was to many attendees and how happy it made them to see a little bit of it at the market. We will do a ‘pocket’ version of the Harvest Festival on October 10 and a brand new Walnut Festival sometime in November. December will bring delightful gifts from our farmers as well as beautiful handmade crafts. I hope to keep these and many other traditions alive until the pandemic is over.”
In a walk around the shaded area underneath the roof, booths display woven baskets by Christine, whose family hails from Kenya. The baskets are so tightly woven, they can hold water.
Also displayed were vegetables from Terri’s Garden, which is located just off Highway 20 after the Nice roundabout. Her lush garden can be seen from the highway. Sister Lois said, “I drive from Sacramento each weekend to help Terri.”
Around the grassy area, with the prominent rock garden, were colorful booths shading the farmers from the sun. “There are between 12 to 22 vendors on average,” said Davis. “There is a ratio of ag. to non-ag. craft vendors we need to adhere to and only items grown/produced by the seller are allowed.”
Travis Rinker, musician and vegetables, joined up with Alex Vollelunga, the Bearded Nut man with his beard oil, to form Valley Long Farms. Besides vegetables, there was fruit, honey, soap, the Pickle Man and many others, including a large costumed pear mascot at the entrance.
Musician Jim Williams, Lakeport, shaded by a tree, played his six-string Gibson during the market, providing a relaxed ambiance for the shoppers and farmers alike.
Davis, while bagging up pears for customers, said, “We have always been open ‘rain or shine’ as it would be impossible to notify customers and vendors of changes in time to make a difference. Some of our farmers come from four hours away and have supported our markets for years.” She added, “The limitations due to COVID-19, plus having fewer customers during the fires and smoke has been really hard on farmers and I hope our community will show their support by attending the farmers’ market as often as possible.”
