Local priority at new Havelock Farmer and Artisan Market
HAVELOCK — The new Havelock Farmer and Artisan Market officially opened on Friday.
A non-profit organization will operate the market every Friday from 2 to 8 p.m.—which includes 20 local vendors, each bringing something different.
The market, is located on the south side of Highway 7, across the street from the Havelock Home Hardware.
Elmer Buchanan, a Havelock area farmer and the market’s organizer who was Ontario’s agriculture minister in the early 1990s during the NDP government, said the location was chosen with the aim of attracting cottager traffic.
“The idea of having farmers markets are something I believe in strongly, it’s an opportunity to support local—because a lot of people talk about local,” Buchanan said.
And, all profits will towards the township as of now, according to Buchanan.
There are strict rules, he said. The Peterborough Farmers’ Market is struggling because anyone can set up a tent and no one knows if it is truly authentic or not—that’s what makes Havelock’s market different, he explained.
At the Havelock the vendors must come from within a 100kilometre radius to sell, he said, and they must declare everything they plan on selling.
Tents must be set up in a line and vendors must sign a contract that has to be approved by the committee members.
“We have told some of our vendors that we will actually go to their farms and make sure they have what they declared.” Buchanan said.
“Those who claim to be selling honey—they better actually have honeybees and are making honey themselves and not buying it somewhere else.”
A few examples of some of the vendors that will be at the Havelock market every Friday are— Backally BBQ, Happy Hippy Naturals, Sign Design, Evergreen Gardens and Shamrock house.
One of the vendors, Krystal Daskewich of Sign Design actually makes all of her signs and lamps on her own.
She explained that for a simple sign you just need a flat piece of wood, paint the background and then get letters from the computer and use carbon paper to stencil in the letters.
“Most people stencil with paint to make it look crisp but I like to paint freehand and make them look more custom and handmade,” Daskewich explained.
Daskewich also uses beaver stumps from their 500 000 acres property and create lamps, coat hangers.
“You can make anything really,” Daskewich explained.
The market will be continue every Friday until Thanksgiving.
NOTE: The Havelock Farmer and Artisan Market has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ HavelockMarket/