Quebec public market week
Buying local and bringing the community closer together
Public markets selling fresh, local, homegrown produce have become increasingly popular throughout the years. A place to discover delicious products and chat with the community, they have become a common weekend gathering place.
This week is the Semaine Québecoise des Marchés Publics (SQMP), and local farmers’ markets are upping their game for the occasion.
The event, running from Aug.11-20, is organized by the Association des Marchés Publics du Québec (AMPQ). The goal? To let the community get to know the lovely ambiance of a public market, said AMPQ President Diane Séguin.
“Eight or nine years ago, there weren’t many markets around,” she explained. “Now, they’ve become the new church steps! They have a wonderful atmosphere. It’s beautiful, it’s positive, it
encourages our values, strengthens the community.”
According to Séguin, the popularity of public markets is gaining more and more momentum. The AMPQ, during it’s twelve years of function, has been trying to promote public markets.
“It’s a good product. It encourages the economy, it encourages local farmers,” she said, adding that the growing success of the markets are beneficial both to the producer and the customer. “We have many, many local farmers. Public markets help the relationship between the seller and the buyer. They learn from each other. The consumers get to give direct feedback about the products they are buying, so the products improve. It creates an economy; it supports our farmers.”
The AMPQ counts between 150 and 160 public markets all around the province. Many of them will be very active, according to Séguin, and will organize tons of activities for the SQMP.
“There will be picnics, tastings, workshops, games,” listed the president. “The farmers’ markets are joyful, generous places. We’re going to make sure everyone is in a good mood and relaxed.”
Many farmers’ markets around the Townships will be participating in the celebration, such as the Marché de la Gare in Sherbrooke, for example.
“We can only rejoice,” said Amélie Boissonneault, the communications coordinator of Destination Sherbrooke about the emergent popularity of public markets. “It’s fresh, it’s local, very human and authentic. I’m happy that we are returning to the basics.”
‘Back to the basics’ is a great way to describe the downtown market’s event for the SQMP. Marché de la Gare will be continuing its annual event ‘L’histoire fait son marché’ for a 5th edition on August 20 and 21.
“We team up with the historical society for this event,” explained Boissonneault. “We’re taking you back to the beginning of the 19th century, visiting a farmer’s market of yesteryear. There will be historical characters, presentations, photos showing what Sherbrooke looked like back in the day.”
She added that there will also be contests and traditional music and songs playing on site. The band Musique à Bouches, who preformed at the Festival des Traditions du Monde, will give a purely Quebecois-sounding show. Activities will also be available for children.
“We love this event,” confessed Boissonneault. “It’s dynamic, it’s animated, and I feel like it really helps people connect with nature and history. It’s a wonderful event that brings people together.”
In Lennoxville, the newly relocated public market will also have its own celebration, albeit a bit later than most. Marypascal Beauregard, who is the president of the market’s board of directors and co-owner of Fromagerie Caitya, said that they will be teaming up with the Lennoxville street festival. Every since their move from College Street to the Provigo parking lot, she explained, the markets’ goal has been to get closer to the community.
“We’re going to start next week, the weekend of the 26th,” Beauregard said. “We’re going to be making fresh, readyto-eat meals, working with our local producers to find ways to best showcase their products.”
According to her, boar-meat corndogs, honey lemonade, goodies and pastries of all kinds will be on the menu.
“None of it will be generic things you can get anywhere. We really want to use the food made by local farmers,” added Beauregard. “There will be signature dishes to thank our clientele, to thank them for their loyalty. They are very precious to us.”
She too, has noticed the rising demand for public markets, but to her, it is more than a trend.
“People want fresh, local food. Importation is great if you want stuff like olives, that can’t grow here, but you don’t know where your product is coming from. It’s not from the source, you don’t meet these farmers,” commented Beauregard. “We do this because we believe in it. It isn’t just a trend. There’s a demand that we are responding to. The public market in Compton is very familial, and we’re working to have something similar. But first, we must bring the customer and the producer closer together. We are an extension of our local farms, essentially.”
Places such as North Hatley, Mansonville and Danville will also be holding special events at their public markets during the next few days. To see what’s going on and where, visit www.ampq.ca/semaine-des-marchespublics-du-quebec.