Vendors have taken down their tents and packed away their goods for the season, as West Valley City’s Farmers Market concluded on Oct. 12 in Centennial Park. The combination of fresh produce, homemade crafts, local entertainment and food trucks attracted good-sized crowds again this summer, and most of the vendors were pleased with the experience.

“There is always a friendly crowd at this market,” said Katie Elmm from Tagge’s Fruit Farm. “We’ve been offering a Power of Produce game for the kids that come, where they can earn tokens by visiting the different booths. Then those tokens can be redeemed for produce. So they get to play and receive healthy produce to take home.”

Rebecca Harrison’s booth–Natural Effects–offered produce along with products for dogs, which are always popular at markets.

“We’ve had a great time at this market this year,” she said. “As the season winds down, I’m seeing a lot of really great produce and lots of interest from customers. And our dog products are very popular. We’ve seen some cute little pooches come through this year.”

Pastry chef Camille Garlick, owner of Edelweiss Bakery, had a great display of her artisan breads, baked goods and samples for customers to salivate over. She came to town from West Haven, where her business is located.

“It’s always a great opportunity to introduce our breads and pastries to a new audience,” she said. “We cater a lot of events, and customers can order from us online, so coming into the West Valley area is a real bonus for us. We’ve been very well received again this year.”

Another popular booth was Bets & Kate Toffee, where co-owners Betsy Tanner and Katie Jensen showcased their old-fashioned English toffee in a variety of flavors. Bets & Kate are traditional vendors at farmers markets throughout the valley as well as at the Holy Cow Boutique in Lindon and the Salt Lake Family Christmas Gift Show.

“Almost everyone loves toffee,” Kate said. “It’s fun to introduce them to new flavors. We love farmers markets where we can have nice, personal chats with customers and get their feedback immediately on the flavors they like.”

Spearheading this market and many others in the area is Good4Life Markets out of Herriman. Co-owner Natalie Rollinson said this summer has been a bit of a drop in attendance at most markets.

“It has a lot to do with the economy—people just don’t have as much money to spend as they seem to have had in the past,” she said. “But the markets are still very popular. Slightly less traffic has made for more personal, extended interactions between merchants and customers. And we get great feedback from customers about the types of vendors that work with us each year. Certainly we’re happy overall with the attendance.”

Rollinson said they are already getting applications for the 2024 season (they can be reached at [email protected]). And they are gearing up for the next event in the city, the West Valley Holiday Marketplace set for Dec. 1 and 2 at the WVC Family Fitness Center, 5415 W. 3100 South. The application link is forms.gle/b2NDjj3cuCUNUwAq6.

“There’s something about being outdoors—the sunshine and all the trees and grassy areas,” she said. “Farmers markets are always great places to come with families. We look forward to hosting them all summer long.”λ