Opening day features vendors, giveaways and kids’ activities
SOMERSET, KENTUCKY (May 5, 2022) — The Lake Cumberland Farmers Market will open for the 2022 season Saturday, May 7, with an event featuring Derby-themed activities and vendors who will sell locally sourced produce and goods.
Market Manager Joy Carroll said 25 vendors from the southern Kentucky region — most of them from Somerset and Pulaski County — will participate in this year’s market. The market, located at Citizens National Bank Pavilion on East Mt. Vernon Street, will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays through the growing season. The market will open on Wednesdays later this summer as more produce becomes available, Carroll said.
“We have an exciting lineup of vendors this season offering a wide variety of goods, and our board of directors has created a fun opening day filled with giveaways and activities for kids,” Carroll said. “I am really looking forward to sharing with the community the wonderful, talented farmers and producers who work so hard to deliver fresh, healthy and quality local products to our residents.”
Confirmed vendors for the 2022 season include:
A to B Family Farms – Pickles, beets, jams, breads, salsa and muffins
Angel Wings – Candles
Belwood Family Farm – Maple syrup, eggs, soaps, lotions
Boone Creek Creamery – Cheese and butter
Britt-Lynn’s – Baked goods
Burnett Farms – Produce
Clay Hill Art – Artwork
David Spillman – Wood products
Dunrustic – Leather products
Floyd’s Produce – Canned goods, vegetables, melons
Godby Farm – Vegetables, watermelon
Leonard Walton – Wood products
Fool Gourd Farm – Produce
In Bloom – Flowers, herbs
Jody B Basketry – Baskets
Johnny B’s BBQ – BBQ sauces, dry rubs, jerky
Joyce’s Soap & More – Soaps and herbs
Ky. Heritage Farms – Greenhouse vegetables, honey, eggs, jams, baked goods
Rabbit Run Farm – Berries and figs
Rock n S Leather – Leather products
Sharon Walton – Produce
Streetmans Sweets and Eats – Baked goods
Summit Meats – Local beef and pork
Taproot Nursery – Herbs and flowers
Tripple J Farms – Produce, beer cheese, canned goods, herbs
Vendors’ participation may vary from week to week depending on the quantity and seasonal nature of their products, or due to changes in their schedules, Carroll said.
Opening day festivities kick off at 8 a.m. Saturday (Derby Day) and include a Derby hat contest and stick-horse race for children. Anyone who wears a Derby hat to the market Saturday will be entered to win a $25 market gift card. The winner of the stick-horse race, scheduled for 10 a.m., will also receive a prize.
Carroll said the market will once again participate in the Kentucky Department for Agriculture’s Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, which provides seniors who are 60 and older and who meet a certain income threshold with vouchers to purchase fresh, unprocessed, locally grown fruits, honey, vegetables and herbs at state-approved farmers’ markets. Area seniors who receive vouchers can redeem them at the downtown market.
Launched in 2020, the Lake Cumberland Farmers Market is a component of the city’s Healthy Somerset initiative, which endeavors to provide residents with a more walkable community featuring enhanced city parks and healthy, locally sourced food options. Healthy Somerset also offers ideas and creates challenges to encourage exercise and healthy habits.
The market is housed in the Citizens National Bank Pavilion, a building made possible by a $250,000 Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy grant with a local match from the City of Somerset.
Mayor Alan Keck encouraged residents to visit the market this season to support local producers and experience the outstanding, fresh foods available to the community.
“We are blessed as a community to have such rich agricultural resources and outstanding local producers,” Keck said. “I am grateful that our market has become a gathering place to share in those resources and celebrate eating and shopping local.”
Follow the Lake Cumberland Farmers Market on Facebook (@lakecumberlandfarmersmarket) to receive event announcements and updates about the 2022 season.
