It’s coming to a close. The Green Goddess Farmers Market at the Oats Park Art Center, that is.
The season ends this Saturday, September 4, when the market will be held for the last time this season from 4:00-9:00 p.m. It’s an event not to be missed, and the Green Goddesses will be appeased by your attendance.
This market is an opportunity for small businesses and independent operators to show off their wares, and for attendees, it’s a shopping opportunity for unique, one-of-a-kind items and fresh-from-the-farm produce. The collection of talented artisans and growers is a shopper’s delight – and it’s not too soon to be thinking about Christmas.
Art Center Executive Director Valerie Serpa, Two Ravens Farm co-owner Jaime Sammons, and Amanda Hammond are the Green Goddesses who planted the seeds that grew this new farmers market in Fallon. The fruits of their labor, and that of their essential volunteers, are to be relished and celebrated one last time this year.
All evening long, market attendees can shop through a collection of 20 vendors, enjoy their favorite beverages or the evening’s cocktail special from the Lariat Bar, try tasty treats from the Five Star Indian Cuisine Food truck, and dance to the music of the Will Shamberger Band. Hammond created the cocktail recipe she calls the Apple on the Farm, for the fall. “It will be made with Frey Bourbon, apple cider, lemon, brown sugar simple syrup, and served on the rocks.” The Art Bar, Art Center Galleries, and Art Store will also be open from 4:00–6:00 p.m. Serpa said, “We have new art in the galleries too, including paintings by Julia Schwardron Marianelli, paintings, drawings, and textiles by Michelle Lassaline, and mixed media sculptures by Nate Clark.
Prior Green Goddess Farms Markets have provided attendees with an array of produce and anything else that grows or is made out here. Local farms that have attended include Lattin Farms, Two Ravens Farm, Pick’in & Grin’in, Yellow Petal Flower Farm, Fisk Farm Herbs, Desert Oasis Teff and Grain, and Desert Hemp Nevada. Local honey from Rau Bees, baked goods from One Bite at a Time and treats from Four Ducks Farm, handcrafted jewelry items from Makabet Designs, Desert Air Jewelry, and Sage Adorned, handmade scarves from Yes Ma’am Press, and pottery from Good Livin’ Ceramics have also been available. Most of the vendors plan to be there for this one last harvest-fest.
There are expectations that produce should be available early in Fallon because it warms up early here. But Sammons said, “It’s a misconception that a lot of people have that the fruit and vegetables should be rolling in May - but they’re not. We don’t put seeds in the ground until May 15, so this last market is when growers will be really rolling in with tomatoes, peppers, melons, everything.”
Sammons discussed the challenges they faced this growing season. “We’ve had 109-degree temperatures, the smoke, the COVID issues, a short water season, and army worms that have been eating through green-leaf produce, especially the Hearts of Gold cantaloupes. Rick Lattin told me he hasn’t seen army worms in the valley for 75 years, and he lost a whole field of melons to them this year.”
The goddesses all agreed that all of the efforts it took for the farmers market has been well worth it, making the market an overall success in their eyes, and with most feedback being positive. Sammons said, “We sell out of everything we have, and many other growers do as well. So we take that as a good sign from a very supportive community.” Hammond said, “I have someone who doesn’t normally give compliments say ‘This is a really nice thing for Fallon to have.’ So, coming from someone who isn’t really quick to give accolades, I thought, maybe he really means it. I think it’s been a good thing, and our vendors have told us that they like this market the best out of all the ones they attend – it’s the nicest, and the most organized.”
As far as next year, Serpa said, “We will evaluate how we did this year. We’ll look at what worked, what didn’t and what can we do better. The Art Bar morphed into something, then the Lariat morphed into something. So, we’ll work on what we can do to make the Green Goddess Farmers Market even easier and more successful. It’s the perfect place to be.”
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