The North Bay Farmers’ Market will remain open at its current location behind the City Transit terminal for one more weekend.
The final outdoor market will be held on October 15, before moving indoors.
The market executive was left scrambling to find a new home for its winter market after learning the North Bay Mall was undergoing extensive renovations.
“Essentially we had been there for six years and this year the mall is undergoing reconstruction and redevelopment. This has made the space unavailable to us for this year’s market,” explained market vice-chair, Donovan Daniel.
“So, we’re happy to announce that the winter market has a new home. It is going to be located at the basement level of the Kennedy building on McIntyre Street.”
The address is 222 McIntyre Street West.
“Square footage-wise, it definitely meets what we had at the mall.”
Daniel says there are a few options for people to enter the area.
“There is access provided through the elevators on the main floors, the doors open up to both Fraser and McIntyre Street, and there is also an entrance at the back of the building. It would be wheelchair accessible because both the ramps and the elevators are designed for wheelchairs.”
Vendors have started to apply for space at the winter market.
“As you can imagine, because of the uncertainty of location, we were much later this year with our applications. So I believe we have probably close to half,” said Daniel.
Several other locations were considered before settling on the Kennedy building.
“But the key for us I believe was ensuring that there was adequate parking, good accessibility, and a central location to the city. We also had to factor in the sustainability of the location,” Daniel stated.
“It is very important for the market that vendors and customers feel from year to year, that the market will be there. If every year we’re in a situation of uncertainty, we find that our vendors tend to maybe not be as committed, maybe they won’t make the investments necessary to meet production for the winter market. So one of the things that I think is very important is that we are able to operate in a manner that is sustainable, where we can have a certain amount of confidence next year that it won’t be a problem.”
It was very challenging to find a winter home.
“We had an exhaustive search throughout the city to try to find a replacement for our spot at the mall, something that lined up with what we had been paying in the past,” Daniel explained.
“The challenge was that the real estate market has changed quite a bit and we found that although there may have been some cases where potential opportunities may have been available, we got the feeling that they could be holding out until maybe a better customer came. So, we do believe that sustainability is important for the long-term growth and success of the market.”
The market is coming off a very busy summer season.
“The summer was very successful,” said Daniel.
“We saw the usual high numbers of both customers and vendors wishing to participate. We believe that it sets us up well to continue next year, with the growth that we’ve experienced over the last several years at the market.”
Jaimie Board of Board’s Honey Farm has been a vendor with the market for the past 22 years.
Still undecided about whether she will attend the winter market, Board suggested going in a different direction down the road.
”I believe that we could be looking at more of a food co-op, a hub where local food can be purchased at any time,” said Board.
“The Muskoka North Good Food Co-op in Huntsville is open throughout the year and they have a lovely location. I really believe that North Bay has the viability and definitely, the Farmers’ Market has the support. It is just a matter of maybe a couple of groups coming together and creating this opportunity. Every challenge can create a new solution.”
Opening day for the winter market is Saturday, October 22nd open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
