Durham Farmers' Market
Encyclopedia
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
, established in 1998.
As part of the Market's emphasis on locally-produced produce, crafts and flowers, items sold by the Market's more than 50 vendors are restricted to traveling no more than 70 miles (112.7 km) on its journey to Durham. The Market is open year-round on Saturday mornings, and Wednesday mornings from April to November.
Impact
The Market's founding in 1998 marks the beginning of a renaissance of downtown Durham, including the founding of Durham Central ParkDurham Central Park
Durham Central Park is an arts-themed, community-focused, municipal park in downtown Durham, North Carolina. It is located at 502 Foster Street, and is the site of the newly opened Pavilion at Durham Central Park which hosts the Durham Farmers' Market....
(2001), American Tobacco Campus (2004) and West Village (2000), as well as the opening of a number of highly-regarded restaurants with an emphasis on locally-sourced produce, that resulted in Durham being named "America's Foodiest Small Town" by Bon Appétit
Bon Appétit
Bon Appétit describes itself as "a food and entertaining magazine" and is published monthly. Named after the French phrase for "Enjoy your meal", it was started by M. Frank Jones in Kansas City in 1956...
in 2008. Since moving to its current location, the Market has become a weekend fixture for Durham residents, drawing thousands to downtown Durham every Saturday morning in the summer; so much so that, as of July 18, 2009, it was ranked as one of the top three farmer's markets in the U.S., according to Care2
Care2
Care2 is a social network website that was founded by Randy Paynter in 1998 to help connect activists from around the world. It has a membership of more than 17 million people....
's "Love Your Famers Market" contest.
Location
From its founding, until 2004, the Durham Farmers' Market was held every Saturday in the gravel parking lot of the Durham Athletic ParkDurham Athletic Park
Durham Athletic Park, affectionately known as "The DAP" , is a former minor league baseball stadium in Durham, North Carolina. The stadium was home to the Durham Bulls from 1926 through 1994...
; in mid-2004, the Market moved to the paved parking lot of Measurement Incorporated's headquarters building. Beginning in 2007, the Farmers' Market found a permanent home under the Pavilion at Durham Central Park
Durham Central Park
Durham Central Park is an arts-themed, community-focused, municipal park in downtown Durham, North Carolina. It is located at 502 Foster Street, and is the site of the newly opened Pavilion at Durham Central Park which hosts the Durham Farmers' Market....
.