April 25, 2025
Local NewsState & National

Creston Farmers Market kicks off

By CARTER ECKL
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Tyler Raasch of Bridgewater, left, and Lisa Sawtelle of Creston distribute produce Monday afternoon from the Bridgewater Farm booth at the first Creston Farmers Market of 2017. The farmers market is held every Monday in the southeast corner of McKnley Park from 4 to 6:30 p.m. through September 25. (CNA photo)

The first Farmers Market of the season kicked off Monday at McKinley Park.

Vendors sold items ranging from plants to vegetables, metallic sunflowers, soaps and bread.

Live music accompanied those searching for and operating the booths.

About 20 vendor booths circled near the parking lot on the southeast side of McKinley Park. Various amounts of success were had by different vendors.

Some first-time participants saw unexpected sales while some returnees think they might have been just a little late this year.

Vendor’s backgrounds fluctuated from avid farmers to first-timers encouraged by their peers to see what kind of interest they could draw.

Jeamene Pierce of Winterset has been selling plants at local farmers markets for the past five years. Pierce was selling various plants ranging from tomatoes to peppers.

Pierce has been planting gardens since she was 18 and admits it has turned into quite the hobby.

“It’s kind of an obsession, but I think it got warm so quick, I think people just planted everything earlier than usual,” said Pierce.

Pierce didn’t see the sales she would have liked this weekend but encouraged everyone who just started planting, or just purchased plants to get their seedlings into the ground quickly.

While gardening is clearly a passion, Pierce sticks to only the Creston and Winterset markets to sell her plants.

There were also kids’ activities, featuring vegetable stamping this week. The activities will continue to be put on for each upcoming farmers market.

The next two weeks of kids’ activities will be folding origami and frisbee spin art. The final activity for the month of June will be decorating pots with each participant taking home a packet of vegetable seeds of their choosing.

Demonstrations from various local businesses will accompany the kids’ activities.

Creston’s Farmers Market will continue to run each Monday from 4 to 6:30 p.m. until September 25.