New West Farmers Market

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Seeking Community Groups for Summer 2011

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As part of our mission to support all of our community, RCFM allocates one space to a community group at every market. The space is offered free of charge, and includes the use of a table, two chairs, and a tent. We encourage groups from New Westminster to apply and give preference to groups working with food security, environmental concerns and health issues. For our complete guidelines and application form, please check out the community group page. We are now accepting applications from community groups for the Summer 2011 season. We encourage you to apply early – the spots fill up fast.

By Jamila
Family Place at RCFM

From the Mailbag- Why Thursdays from 3-7?

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We often get asked why our market is on Thursdays from 3-7. We know many of you work full time in traditional Monday to Friday jobs, and we understand that some weeks it is probably a stretch to make it to the market before it closes at 7. But there’s a lot of thought that went into choosing Thursday as our market day and 3-7 as our hours, and we wanted to share with you how that came to be!

In 2007 when planning was first started by community members interested in bringing a farmers market to New Westminster, they did what all smart folks should do, and they did a bit of research first. Who else was running markets? Where were they? What days and times were they on? It was important to know what was going on in other communities.

The density of the Lower Mainland means that most vendors don’t just do one market – they try and schedule many markets to maximize their time and find the best outlets for their products – but they can’t be in two places at once. Because our friends at established, longer running markets such as Haney, Abbotsford, Coquitlam, and Vancouver were all on weekends,  our founders knew it would be hard to find great quality vendors with a good list of followers if RCFM tried to compete with the already busy weekend market crowd. The same year RCFM started, other markets were in the works too and they were doing their homework as well. And thus, the mid-week market was born. It was the only way to start a vibrant, well balanced market.

RCFM founding organizers also knew they couldn’t please everyone with their time of day, and picked 3-7 to try and cater to as many demographics as possible: the kids and after school, the commuters heading home, the retired folks, and the vendors, too. We’ve been asked more than once if we’d consider staying open later than 7 – even for part of the season – but if you’ve been to the market in the later part of the season, you know it’s already dark at 7 and our vendors come from places that can be up to a two hour drive. They need to get home early as possible to prepare for their busy days ahead and get some rest. We also didn’t want to have different hours within the same season – we thought it would be easy to forget that the market is open later for part of the season. It would be confusing to a lot of people who already have busy schedules.

The market opens for the summer 2011 season June 9th 2011 and runs Thursdays from 3-7. You can still catch us at the winter market March 12 and April 9th from 10-2 at Holy Trinity Cathedral.

Merch!

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We recently developed some amazing branded goodies you can buy to support Royal City Farmers Market. All gear is available at all of the markets and community events we attend. Don’t forget special prices apply to merchandise if you’re a member and all members are entitled to a one time 50% discount on a single item. Check out the Merchandise page for more info and prices, as well as pictures!

February 12th: Sweetheart Market & Member Appreciation Day

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Photo by Hyeyoung Kim

Consider this: the farmers market is a great place for a date – your first or your 400th. It’s fun, it’s interesting, it has lots to talk about and neat things to see and do. This weekend is our Sweetheart Market and we’re telling our members just how much we appreciate them! Join us for Member Appreciation Day – selected vendors will be offering a discount so just show them your 2011 membership card. If you haven’t signed up yet, you can in the lobby! Membership is just $10 and is a great way to show your support for the market and is one of the ways we fundraise.

We’re also featuring local singer songwriter Mike Friesen as our musical guest with 40s and 50s folk and pop standards, as well as the Wildlife Rescue Association as our community group. In the lounge, there will be free form tissue collaging for children to experiment with. Finally, make sure you take some time to chat with our volunteer, Kelly Kiss – she’s a registered holistic nutritionist and she’ll be on hand to talk heart health in the lobby.

Our friends at Translink are again sponsoring our transit incentive draw – take transit, walk, or cycle to the market and be entered to win a warm fleece jacket. The City of New Westminster is also sponsoring free parking at the downtown waterfront parkade – so grab some friends and carpool to the market.

The winter market is Saturday February 12th, from 10-2 at Holy Trinity Cathedral, located at 514 Carnarvon Street in New Westminster. It is very close to the Columbia Skytrain Station.

Here’s the vendor lineup for Saturday:

Eat On Site

  • new! Eli’s Serious Sausage – eat on site locally made smokies
  • Gogo Java – Coffee, tea, smoothies, juice, and other liquids
  • Ovenmonkey Bakery – selling fresh Langos – Hungarian fried flatbread
  • Samosa Guy – hot vegetarian samosas, as well as frozen take home samosas

Produce

Dairy

Meat & Fish

Bread & Baking

Delectable Treats

Local Crafters

Supported By

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Land Acknowledgement

Our market is grateful to operate on the unceded land of the Qayqayt, Kwikwetlem, and other Halkomelem speaking Peoples. We acknowledge that colonialism has made invisible their histories and connections to the land. We acknowledge the incredible gift this land is to our market and BC Agriculture. We commit to the ongoing work of decolonization and allyship.