NORTHAMPTON — Downton Northampton will once again host the Tuesday Market as it gears up for its fifteenth season, and seventh season as a program of Grow Food Northampton, beginning Tuesday, April 19.
The Tuesday Market will host several local produce and crafts vendors, and live music. It will run for 30 weeks until Nov. 9 from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the plaza between Thornes Marketplace and the EJ Gare parking garage.
“This year we have a larger and greater diversity of vendors.” Farmers Market Manager Helen Kahn said.
Organizers said there also will be more prepared foods and rotating art, jewelry and craft vendors as well as live music.
In 2020 and 2021, restrictions were put in place due to the pandemic, but this year COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted. This will allow for dining on site, enjoying musicians and connecting with the community, accoring to organizers.
“I am very excited and it’s clear a lot of our patrons are excited to have a market that is bigger than it’s been pre-pandemic,” Khan said.
The opening market on April 19 will feature music by Kingfisher Duo, 22 vendors and a visit from a Smith College group sharing their innovative ParKit project, according to Grow Food Northampton. More than 30 different vendors will be joining the market over the course of the season.
The market is accessible to everyone and accepts SNAP benefits that can be doubled up to $10 each week through Grow Food Northampton’s SNAP Match program. Khan says that “thanks to our generous sponsors” the program is able to make the market more affordable.
Several vendors also accept Healthy Incentives Program (HIP), the Massachusets-based benefits that allow customers to buy an extra $40 to $80 worth of fresh produce from local farmers.
Walking around downtown Northampton, Khan says that businesses in downtown Northampton are excited as the Tuesday Market reignites “an uptick in business on the day of the Tuesday Market.”
“The Tuesday Market has always been an opportunity to connect the community, and now it’s an opportunity to re-connect with that community,” Khan said.