Farmers' Markets across the state are having a hard time this year. Add that to the difficulty in lining up vendors and customers for a new market, and you'll quickly see that it is not an easy task to get the Fairfax market off the ground.
A farmers' market should be one of the cornerstones of a small community. I have been involved with the Westford Farmers' Market for the past five years (vendor and board member) and have watched it grow steadily each year. This year, we have a thriving market with 15-20 regular vendors selling everything from fruit, produce, eggs, meat, bread, pastry, kettle corn, wine, take-out foods, pickles, coffee beans, fudge, etc. We have live music under the gazebo every week, and events planned in conjunction with the library and others.
However, if you look beyond the tasty farm products, you'll see this is a quite amazing social gathering. People come with their families and stay for hours...meeting friends, swinging at the playground, eating dinner, listening to music. Both new and old faces show up each week. It's a vital part of our community for many reasons. That, as much as anything else, is part of the catalyst which makes a market work.
Keep at it and support all your local markets. The community will be better for it.
For those interested, the Westford Farmers' Market is on Fridays at 3:30-6:30pm on the town common. Information at
