Chamber Farmer’s Market: Veggie venue set to reopen in Club Square
For seven months out of the year, the Cape Coral Farmer’s Market is known as the hot spot destination for the area’s finest and freshest food, homemade baked goods, crafts and specialty vendors. This Saturday, the Farmer’s Market returns to Club Square behind the Vinyards Community Church between Southeast 48th Terrace and Southeast 46th Lane.
The market runs 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday through next May 14 and is marking its 22nd season in South Cape.
“This has been a week of excitement with our vendors working hard,” said market coordinator Claudia St. Onge at the Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral. “We want to keep ours a true community market. It’s a Saturday destination where people can shop, socialize, eat and have a good time.”
It has become known for its certified organic and local produce, greens, sprouts, cheeses, native plants and trees, homemade jellies and jams, Gulf-fresh seafood, fresh baked breads and pastries, pickles and olive mixes, pet treats and made-on-site guacamole and salsas.
New vendors are lining up to participate this year.
“We have one coming in with Maine lobsters, another with homemade maple syrup, one making southern comfort foods, and a fisherman from Alaska bringing salmon,” said St. Onge, who has coordinated the market for the past 15 years.
If being around so much luscious food makes you hungry, there’s always an assortment of fresh donuts, pizza, barbecue, soup, fresh smoothies and much more to enjoy while browsing the take-home items.
“We will start with about 100 vendors, an all-time high,” said St. Onge. “We are one of the largest markets in the state of Florida. We have a great following. We draw 5,000 to 10,000 people in season, but we’ll start at about 7,000 to open.”
There’s also live entertainment by familiar faces providing a variety of styles and genres. There’s the rock of John Friday and steel drum master Dave Lapio as well as local favorite Yard Dog Charlie.
“We also do something that no other market offers,” said St. Onge. “We offer EBT/SNAP card transaction authorization. “We are a non-profit so we try to provide things for the community to give back to the community as much as we can.”
In addition to the perishables sold at the market, guests can visit the booths of local arts and crafts featuring handmade jewelry, antiques and much more.
“Southwest Florida embraces its markets here,” added St. Onge. “People become attached to them. On Facebook they call the Farmer’s Market their market. We get short on parking sometimes, but we don’t get many complaints. The market is deeply rooted where it is at Club Square.”
For more information, call (239) 549-6900, or visit capecoralchamber.com.