Janet Burt, left, Chehalis, and Melissa Montee, right, shop at the Newaukum Valley Farm's stand at the Community Farmers Market on Tuesday afternoon in downtown Chehalis.
Seth Martin, Toledo, switches his guitar out for his banjo while playing for shoppers at the Chehalis Farmers Market on Tuesday afternoon in downtown Chehalis.
The Community Farmers Market is seen on Tuesday afternoon along Boistfort Street in downtown Chehalis. Tuesday marked the weekly market's opening day for the 2013 season which runs through October.
Bags of cherries are seen at Calhoun Family Fruit's stand at the Community Farmers Market on Tuesday afternoon.
Vendors from around Lewis County set up their produce, flowers and food under tents on Boistfort Street in Chehalis Tuesday morning in preparation for the ninth annual Community Farmers Market.
Once the vendors were ready to start another market season, organizers held a ribbon cutting to kick off the market, which will be held each Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Oct. 29.
Jackie Rose, the Community Farmers Market manager, said this year’s market will have 22 vendors, with six new to the market.
The new vendors include Twin Oaks Creamery, Blacksheep Creamery, Jeremy's Bistro, Painted Sky Soaps, Brer Rabbit Farms and Best Family Farms.
Heather Howell, who helps run Twin Oaks Creamery, Adna, said the creamery came to the market when it started nine years ago, but after the 2007 flood, the creamery couldn’t produce enough for a market.
“Now we are back up to full speed,” Howell said. “We do seven markets in Seattle and we decided to get back into this one and support the community.”
Twin Oaks Creamery sells milk and cheese from 78 goats and 18 cows on property along Twin Oaks Road in Adna. The market is the only opportunity for locals to buy the creamery’s milk and cheese, since they do not sell it in Adna.
Across from the Twin Oaks Creamery tent, Ron Mannan, of Brer Rabbit Farms in Chehalis, sold small trees, flowers, garlic and blackberries.
Mannan said he started his farm to grow and sell trees, but lately he is growing more produce so he decided to enter the farmers market. He believes his blackberries will be a real hit at the market this year.
“I’m more produce than a nursery,” Mannan said.
For food options at the market, Jeremy Wildhaber, who recently opened Jeremy's Market & Cafe,
Chehalis, is offering a variety of food as a vendor at the market this year.
Wildbaber’s tent titled Jeremy’s Bistro at the market sits right next to his cousin John Hyatt’s Newaukum Valley Farm tent.
“My cousin is right here next to me and it’s fun to be in the community,” Wildhaber said.
Wildhaber prepared a vegetarian chilli, hawaiian sandwich and chicken cordon bleu for the market on Tuesday, but he said each week will bring a new recipe.
“Everyday will be a new surprise,” Wildhaber said.
