Farmers on the Square Celebrates a Decade in Carlisle

shoppers hit the farmers market

The Carlisle Farmers on the Square market attracts droves of shoppers looking for the freshest locally grown and produced foods. Photo by Carl Socolow '77.

A Decade of Delicious Farm Fare

by Maureen Moroz '19

The Farmers on the Square market will host a 10th Anniversary Celebration on Wednesday, Sept. 19, from 3-7 p.m. at its location on the northwest corner of Carlisle’s historic square, the intersection of High and Hanover streets. There will be live music, children’s activities, cooking demonstrations and milkshakes provided by vendors in addition to the market’s typical array of fresh, local food.

The vibrant, producers-only market was co-founded by Jenn Halpin, director and farm manager of the Dickinson College Farm, and several other local growers and community volunteers. The college farm has been a vendor for all 10 of the market’s years.

“Our vendors are from a 50-mile radius of Carlisle,” said Mackenze Burkhart '15. “They sell products they have grown, raised or made themselves. This makes us unique in the region.”

The 10th Anniversary Celebration will include live music from two local bands, as well as children’s activities using crushed flowers to dye linen. The Leadership, Education and Farming (LEAF) Project, a Carlisle nonprofit focused on youth leadership and engagement in the local food system, will present cooking demonstrations. Old-fashioned milkshakes will be sold to benefit Cumberland Fresh Match, a program that ensures access to affordable, local, fresh food.

When the market was founded a decade ago, it resumed a tradition that had been missing from Carlisle’s square for more than 50 years, when the Carlisle Market House was demolished in 1952. The new Cumberland County Courthouse now stands on the corner the market house once occupied, while Farmers on the Square sets up shop on the opposite side of the square, in front of the Carlisle First Presbyterian Church.

“In this day and age, it is difficult for a small market to thrive, especially those not in a large, metropolitan area,” explained Burkhart. “We are lucky that Farmers on the Square remains a vibrant part of the Carlisle community, and can continue to help improve access to local, fresh products.”

Farmers on the Square is open Wednesdays from 3-7 p.m. from May through December. From January through April, the market is open on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month from 3-6 p.m. at the Carlisle Theatre, 40 W. High St.

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Published September 17, 2018