Johnson City Farmers Market to return for 50th year

The Johnson City Farmers Market is celebrating its 50th anniversary with its return this Saturday. This year's market is also bringing a few new qualities for vendors and customers alike to enjoy. Penny McElroy, vice president of the Johnson City Farmers Market, said the turnout of the market grows every year, and she expects this year to be no different. "We've had an influx of new people moving into Johnson City, so we are constantly now improving and getting a larger amount of people coming to the Farmers Market and parking downtown," she said. "...We've got something planned every month of the season this year." McElroy said the market is significant for Johnson City by being a "community event," allowing people to see the variety of products and goods grown and made by each of the vendors. She added the market ultimately drives local economic growth in the district. "We've got a lot of good things planned in the works mostly because we want to enrich downtown Johnson City and bring more business to downtown Johnson City, and just let people know that we're on the map and we're growing," she said. All 44 vendors from last year's season are returning for this year. McElroy said there will be a mix of new activities for the vendors to participate in, such as having two mega-markets this year and a booth decoration competition in honor of July 4. Their market is also expecting more musicians to provide tunes during the day in August. "It's fun to get the vendors involved in things to help build that sense of community and family-friendliness," McElroy said. Another new aspect of the market is its program called Double Dollars. McElroy explained the program allows individuals shopping with a SNAP card to receive a matching number of tokens for the amount they want to spend from the Johnson City Farmers Market, doubling their spending amount. "I think it's important to offer that for people, especially because food prices have gone up so high, and there's a lot of families in our area that need that extra assistance," she said. "With the sponsorship, our vendors are paying a few dollars more every week so we have the money to back up that program. We're excited to do that on our own." The market also drives locally spent dollars. McElroy said along with creating an environment for local farmers to connect with their customers, the market acts as a gateway for money to be spent and remain in the local economy, "It's a circle of life kind of scenario, with the finances being local, coming to local vendors and being spent in the local community," she said. "It gives the people who are vendors more money to spend in the local community, and it draws more interest to the merchants downtown, so that money stays local." The Johnson City Farmers Market season begins this Saturday. It will be open every following Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. until Oct. 31.