COCHRANE— The Cochrane Farmers’ Market is entering into the second year of operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, and several changes are in the works to help prepare for a successful season.
The Market opens on the first Saturday in June, and this year will be special as it will host an extra event at the end of the season.
“Just because September kind of ended close to the end of the week, we've added that extra Saturday in October, so that makes 18 Saturdays over the summer,” said Valerie McCracken, Market Manager.
The farmers market moved from the Cochrane Ranche to the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre in 2020 to ensure social distancing would be possible for guests and it will remain at this location for 2021.
“We realized fairly quickly that we couldn't anticipate that there was going to be a lot of change from what we had to do last year. Because of the uncertainty of the COVID situation, we very quickly spoke with Spray Lakes Sports Centre, and they agreed to let us stay at the parking lot at their site for another year.”
McCracken said the new location works very well in allowing the market to adhere to COVID-19 public health measures.
“It’s a big area we can space out our vendors and the customers had lots of room, so everyone felt very safe and comfortable at the market. We were pleased that we were able to relocate, and re-organize and continue to keep the market open.”
The market will be following similar protocols to last year where vendors will be spaced out at least 10 feet between each other with higher trafficked vendors having more space to allow for safe line-ups.
“Sometimes the lines are a little slower so we've accommodated that and are making sure those popular vendors have space for line-ups,” McCracken said. “We do have the entire area cordoned off with tape and we have designated entry and exit points so that we can count customers going in and out.”
In 2020 the market was allowed to host up to 400 customers at the time with space to spare, McCracken said, adding the sports centre parking lot proved to be the perfect location for social distancing.
For visiting customers porta-potties, handwashing stations and sanitizing stations will be provided throughout the market.
Last year, facemasks were encouraged by the market, despite being an outdoor event. This year they will be following the same plan and encouraging the use of masks while shopping.
“Because it's outside, we may allow some leeway, but I think again, we are going to very strongly encourage them. We never got into any situations where we turned anyone away, but I think most people realized that when they came to the market, essentially, everyone was wearing a mask.”
McCracken is anticipating a higher number of vendors, compared to last June. She added the Market and the vendors are feeling more confident operating the market safely and she is expecting between 50 to 60 vendors to attend the weekly market.
“There is an adjacent parking lot that we kept empty last year for safety reasons, but we do have the potential to expand. We will be looking at vendor applications and if we see that there are some new vendor products, we will very much try to incorporate new farmers and new products.”
McCracken said despite the busy year in 2020, she has noticed a slower number of new vendor applications for this year's Cochrane Farmers' Market. With vendor applications being open throughout the summer, she is hopeful that more vendors will sign up as restrictions are eased.
“It is obviously space-dependent, but I can never resist really amazing new products. I'll figure out how to squeeze them in at some point. And we do even if it's sometimes just for a couple of markets, just to let them try it out and kind of introduce them to Cochrane and our customers.”
The market generally consists of 40 full-time vendors, and around 20 part-time which means the market can offer a fresh lineup of new vendors each week.
The Cochrane Farmer’s Market opens Saturday, June 5 at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre. Spring Markets will take place on March 27 and April 17.
For more information on the Cochrane Farmers’ Market visit their website cochranefarmersmarket.ca
