Farmers Market returns with 20 weekly vendors

By MARTIN WILBUR

When Mount Kisco rekindled a farmers market in 2021, organizers decided to dip their toe into the water cautiously.

It started once a month with as few as five vendors, but the demand for a Sunday market in the area has only increased since its inception.

On Sunday, May 18, the Mount Kisco Farmers Market will open its fifth season, with an average of 20 vendors each week, some of which will be there on alternating weeks or on a monthly basis. There will also be musical entertainment and representatives of local nonprofit organizations, all of which has helped Mount Kisco’s market to become an important weekly event for the community.

It will be held every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., through Nov. 16 in the front portion of the South Moger Avenue municipal parking lot.

“This is our biggest market. We have 40 vendors and we’ve watched a lot of smiles on the community’s faces and a lot of integration and conversation, and a lot of joy,” said Nicole Sturomski, the market’s founder and executive director. “We’ve gotten a lot of feedback that it’s something to look forward to every week, especially after COVID and being cooped up for so long. That sense of connection becomes important and relevant again.”

In addition to crafts, there has been some additional focus on improving and expanding the food choices, Sturomski said. This year there will be vendors selling empanadas, gyros, pickles, coffee and a variety of baked goods in addition to organic fruits and vegetables, she said.

There will be local musicians performing inside the gazebo at the parking lot each Sunday. Nonprofit organizations include Caramoor, ArtsWestchester, Neighbors Link and Open Door Family Medical Center, among others, that could provide important information to the community.

A concern was raised about the parking, since the market uses the first aisle of the South Moger lot closest to the avenue. Trustee Karen Schleimer said that with Barnes & Noble in operation since last fall and a monthly Sunday morning car show in the Shoppers Park lot on the other side of the street behind the stores, parking may be at a premium. 

Sturomski said on Sundays when there is a car show in the Shoppers Park lot, the market will direct the vendors to park in the last aisle closest to the Mount Kisco train station. The market needs to use the gazebo for the musical performers because that is the only spot that has access to electricity, she said.

Having a Sunday market limits some of the competition with other markets in the area, many of which are held on Saturday. It also starts at 11 a.m., later than most of the Saturday markets, Sturomski said.

“We try not to compete with church and morning routine, and give a time frame where people are more relaxed and have free time to come and enjoy the market,” Sturomski said.

For more information, visit mkfarmersmarket.com.