Comments on Farmers' Markets

While there are a number of farmers' markets in the general area  of Duncan- most of them are rather small as compared to the one I am use to attending. Even if there are 80-90 stalls - the volume of traffic is substantially less than was in Peterborough. Which is to be expected as there are so many more people in that fair city than in this area.  At this time of year the local markets are getting smaller and smaller as both the weather gets worse and the number of farmer with produce to sell becomes less. All of the markets in the area seem to have the rule that the produce has to be grown locally. That means that with the exception of some foods like kale, carrots and squashes - the season is pretty much ended for most farmers. Not surprisingly the selection of food is much larger in Peterborough not only because there are more farmers and shoppers in the area but also the vendors are allowed to sell vegetables etc from other areas. For example one can buy green peppers at the beginning of May when the frost locally has barely left the ground.

The Ontario markets that I know about start fairly early (Peterborough opened at 7:00) whereas the one in Duncan opens at 9:00 and the one just outside of Nanaimo opens at 10:00.

The shoppers are a bit different too. Like in Peterborough, those shoppers who arrive as soon as the market opens are primarily interested in only food. They are focused; they seldom cast their eyes on anything other than the food booths. However, once the more casual shoppers start to appear, I have, in spite of the smaller number of shoppers, had far more interest in what I am doing than in Peterborough. Not only are small children curious but their parents seem to be as interested. It feels as if there are fewer times when (see my post Weaving #3 - At the Market from 5/5/15) parents drag their kids away when quite clearly they want to see what is happening. It feels as if I am also having longer conversations about weaving etc than I use to have.

Unfortunately, those longer conversations are not translating into more sales. In fact I have only sold about half of what I had sold this time last year. Part of that is that I did not get accepted into the Duncan Market as an occasional drop-in until mid August - before that I was participating in even smaller Farmers' Markets, and part of it may be due to the fact that it will take some time before people come to the market just to see me. There is also the weather......

People have suggested to me that it is silly to try to sell wool products in the summer time - they might be right. And then there is the rain. It has rained the last two Saturdays. Yesterday it rained none stop for the almost eight hours I was there. Not a gentle occasional drizzle but frequently a serious rain that caused the gutters to run like small rivers. I did not know until yesterday that my tent leaks. Stuff had gotten wet the previous week but I had thought that it was because the wind had blown the rain in. Not so. Yesterday within 30-40 minutes of being set up everything was covered with moisture - but I could not figure out why or how. There were no huge drops coming through specific holes in the ceiling - I could have fix that. But rather the water appeared to ooze through the fabric, turning into a fine mist that covered all of my weaving. I quickly drove to the dollar store and bought some plastic that would cover the roof. While it did stop the rain from coming in - the damage was done. I was quite wet and all of my stuff had a damp feeling to it.

The most remarkable difference in the shoppers between Duncan and Peterborough is how they cope with the weather. In Peterborough if it was raining, the shoppers would frequently huddle in a vendor's tent until the storm blew over or else they would leave. In Duncan it seems as if they are so use to the rain that they just continue to stroll along. I was shivering but there were some with shorts on -shopping. No one showed any sign of rushing to get their weekly shopping done. There were certainly far fewer shoppers than normal - but the weather did not seem to bother them. Younger kids had one piece wet suits on, adults had their water proof jackets and many had their rubber boots on. All just strolled along at their usual pace.

I think it is all too easy to assume that people on the west coast are sort of wimps because they do not have to endure the harsh winter weather of much of Canada. But I have to say - it takes a certain kind of toughness to shop at a farmers' market in the pouring rain, in shorts and not look as if you are in a rush to get out of the rain.