LINCOLN PARK – Plans are in the works for the 2009 Fort Visger CDC Farmers Market.
The 2009 markets again will be held on Sundays but with a new time of 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. to encourage all demographics to be able to shop.
The markets, which are held in the Southfield Road Municipal Parking Lot between I-75 and Fort Street, will start May 3 and run through Oct. 25, with a special holiday market on Nov. 22.
Fort Visger CDC Farmers Market officials are proclaiming 2009 as The Year of the Farmers Market. The group’s market is Downriver’s first, as well as Wayne County’s first Sunday farmers market.
Farmers come from Wayne, Washtenaw and Monroe counties each Sunday to Lincoln Park. Although many new farmers markets have started since the Fort Visger CDC’s, the concept of a farmers market is centuries old.
Lancaster (Pa.) Central Market is the country’s oldest market, with a founding date of 1889. Closer to home, Detroit’s Eastern Market was founded in 1891.
Fort Visger market organizers say it has contributed to southeastern Michigan’s local economy and has provided a livelihood for many farmers, specialty food vendors and crafters. The markets are sponsored by the Fort Visger Community Development Corp., along with the Lincoln Park Downtown Development Authority.
Fort Visger CDC members include the cities of Ecorse, Lincoln Park and River Rouge, as well as southwest Detroit ZIP code 48217.
The markets will feature farm produce, flowers, plants, baked goods, food items and crafts. Anyone interested in participating as a vendor or volunteer can contact market coordinator Leslie Lynch-Wilson at (313) 598-3137 or [email protected].