Idaho Falls Farmers Market returns Saturday for 2021 season
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IDAHO FALLS — An annual tradition in downtown Idaho Falls returns for the season this weekend.
The Idaho Falls Farmers Market gets underway on Memorial Drive at 9 a.m. Saturday. The event goes until 1 p.m. and Broadway to D street will be blocked off to allow vendors to set up.
The market will run in a similar fashion as it did last year to protect against COVID-19. Vendors will be spaced apart, and masks and social distancing are encouraged for visitors.
During the craziness of 2020, Market Manager Junean Stoddard told EastIdahoNews.com they lost their regular tourist crowd and were expecting a bit of a hit.
“Last year there was none of (the tourists), and the community of Idaho Falls really stepped up,” she explained. “I felt like that was a signal that the community of Idaho Falls really does appreciate the Farmers Market and appreciates the local businesses and that the small businesses are providing something unique.”
Stoddard added that during last year, many people enjoyed vendors selling items that helped with gardening and home canning, activities that were popular during quarantine. She explained that the market is there to provide things like this to the community, and purchasing from the market can benefit the whole area.
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“We’re still feeling the effects of last year’s shutdown… It’s kind of a ripple effect on local businesses.” Stoddard said. “But when you buy locally, that money stays in that community and it’s interesting the studies that have been done about how much that impacts the local economy.”
The Market has 85 different vendors that will appear throughout the year. With the market hitting three different seasons, it allows for plenty of variety for the consumer to come back again and again to see what is in season.
“There’s connection and there’s a network going on. It’s local, it’s not coming from California or Mexico. It’s coming from here,” she added.
The Idaho Falls Farmers Market will happen every Saturday through October, weather permitting.