Originally begun to sell excess garden produce in 1988, the Sandpoint Farmers Market today showcases vendors selling jewelry, meat, baked goods, tea, tinctures, flowers, crafts, henna tattoos, and naturally, farm-fresh produce. Everything the market sells is made or grown within 100 miles of Sandpoint.
Because of the area's high concentration of small-scale local farmers, produce remains a major draw. All of it is sold from the hands of the people who grew, mostly without pesticides, and harvested it. Some of them have been with the farmers market for well over two decades.
Later this season, Sandpoint Farmers Market is celebrating its 35th anniversary with a community birthday party — cake and everything — on Sept. 16.
"I have been with the market since there were six vendors," says Kim Spencer, a fiber artist who now runs the booth Staff of Life. "Over the years I was a weaver, plant and veggie vendor, a body care producer, plus fiber artist."
Sharon Gunter of Basket Case has also been with the market since close to its inception.
"I was making baskets and found out that the market would be taking crafters. I applied and was accepted in 1998," Gunter says.
Even with the changes of decades, the market has kept its values, she says. "Vendor made, vendor sold. This is quite important to me."
One of those changes Gunter likes is Kids Day at the Market, happening this year on Aug. 26. Last year, local kids sold soap, jewelry and other handmade objects. Children can apply to sell their wares until Aug. 19, and, like adult vendors, need to have locally crafted (or grown) the items themselves. Daily vendor fees are waived to encourage participation, says market manager Kelli Burt.
During Kids Day, parents support kids under age 15 with the actual commerce, since not all of the young creatives can count change back quickly.
"It's heartwarming to see support for the creative young ones from their families," Gunter says. "There's a community feel to our market that visitors have commented so positively about through the years."
Sandpoint's market still has the small-town atmosphere it's always benefited from, shaded from the summer sun by the trees of Farmin Park, nestled in a strip of downtown between food trucks and old-school diners.
Popular produce can sell out quickly, however, and farmers such as Red Wheelbarrow Produce's Emily LeVine update their fans via Instagram on what they're selling at upcoming markets. Fruit is picked already-ripe depending on the season — brilliant red strawberries, dusky blueberries, sweet-sour mountain huckleberries — and the vegetables have a flavor and texture that may be new to supermarket shoppers.
On one recent early-season market day, 8-year-old Norah Blakey of Moscow bites into a carrot from Mountain Cloud Farm — it's sweet, bright orange, with a crisp snap.
"This is the best carrot I've ever eaten," she exclaims.
The market draws many out-of-town guests. During the course of a market season, over a third of visitors come from outside Bonner County, and close to a thousand kids come through the market on any given Saturday. Younger children play on the small shaded hill ringed by vendors, sometimes dancing to live music on Saturday mornings, sometimes running obstacle courses or building with blocks on Wednesday afternoons.
Wednesdays, which are usually slower with fewer vendors, feature kid-friendly activities. The Bonner County Library hosts family events periodically, such as a mid-June workshop on movement-based storytelling. There are wooden, parkour-inspired balance beams and vaults to play on from 3-4 pm every Wednesday. And in June, Lauren Kershner began hosting crafts with funding from Creations, an arts-and-crafts playspace in downtown Sandpoint.
Kershner believes investing in children will transform the planet. She's worked with children for decades and currently nannies for local families. She ran the kids' arts and crafts booth at the Sandpoint Farmers Market last year — magic wands with swirly ribbons were a favorite. Her energy around children seems boundless, with off-the-cuff songs teaching small kids to wear their shoes and listen to their mothers.
A native of Los Angeles, Kershner encountered the ethos of an open-hearted approach to life while working with kids at Lucidity festival in Southern California. Even from Idaho, she returns to Lucidity, driving the 20 hours to create "the container for the miracle" and to recharge herself.
Lucidity solidified Kershner's desire to welcome children into a world of safety, creativity and possibility. "We can heal the world," she said "and Sandpoint really is a kind community."
Kindness is present everywhere you look at Sandpoint's farmers market — in the love poured into the wares, in the smiles of friends meeting unexpectedly and in the gentle summer warmth filtering through the canopy of trees. ♦
Sandpoint Farmers Market • Saturdays from 9 am-1 pm and Wednesdays from 3-5:30 pm through Oct. 14 • Farmin Park, downtown Sandpoint • sandpointfarmersmarket.com
