Fresh off a banner year in 2020, the Saturday Farmers Market in downtown Canby is set to return later this month with several new additions planned.
In a year where most large events were canceled or significantly modified due to the pandemic, the Canby Farmers Market offered a chance for locals to get outside, shop, support local businesses and farmers and maybe even have a little fun.
Not surprisingly, the market boomed in its second year under organizer Alexis Purcell, eventually expanding to cover two blocks of North Holly Street — and even adding a six-week winter market to ring in the Christmas season.
Purcell tells The Canby Current that new events and theme days will be one of the big additions to the market this year. It’s a concept Purcell has toyed with in the past, but in 2021, she is going all in.
The calendar already includes a pancake breakfast with the Canby Cougar football team on June 12 and a “Dog Day” on June 19. (“Special prizes for all the cute dogs,” Purcell explained.)
And the market will lean in to the Independence Day holiday like never before, opening on both July 3 and 4 for a two-day extravaganza.
Before 2020, the farmers market typically went dark on the Fourth of July weekend so as not to compete with Canby’s Independence Day celebration. But in the vacuum of last year, the market went forward — enjoying what vendors described as the event’s busiest weekend ever — and perhaps installing a brand-new Canby tradition.
The market will turn the calendar backward with “Antique Days” on July 24, which will feature an emphasis on all things vintage, farmhouse and shabby chic.
And finally, the Canby Winter Market will be returning in time for the holidays, Oct. 23 through Dec. 18.
The Canby Farmers Market will feature over 40 vendors, farms, crafters, booths and food carts, including Chug Coffee, Canby Asparagus Farm, Claudia’s Tamales, Chop Chop Chicken Sundaes, Kona Ice and Good News BBQ.
New and returning vendors include South Barlow Berries, Red Chair Farm, 503 Distilling, Beathan Farms, Parson Farms, Dumme Kuh Farmstead, Lux Bakery, Elk River Soap, Just Bee Farm, The Christmas Bear, Tooth N Claw Metal Art, the Pastry Smith, Urban Cowgirl Trading Co., Catman Cellars, Old World Soap Co, Just a Bunch of Scrunch, Pilgrims Nuts, Julie’s Jewels and The Scrap Shop.
Look for it on North Holly between 2nd and 4th (next to Gwynn’s Coffeehouse and Wait Park) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays starting April 24.