Jackson Farmers Market moving to new location

The Jackson Farmers Market plans a new location this year, and others in the area are preparing for the coming season.

Jackson City Park has been the home of the Jackson Farmers Market on Tuesday afternoons since 2011, when the market moved from Barton Street in uptown Jackson, a more shaded area.

Now the market is headed to the train station, near the intersection of Highways 25 and 61. Opening day of the market is planned for May 5.

The train station hosts the St. Louis Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, which offers leisure rides and holds other events throughout the year.

Michelle Chesser, the market's manager, said the move is an attempt to become more visible to customers.

"We do think it's going to be a boon right there," Chesser said. "At the park, unless someone was actually going to the market, they wouldn't know about us, so we had to do something."

Several new potential vendors already have contacted Chesser because of the opportunity the new location creates, she said. On average, the market hosts about 20 vendors each week.

The market is from 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and features produce, crafts, baked goods and various other locally grown and homemade products.

Opening for the season May 2 is the Riverfront Farmers Market in downtown Cape Girardeau, held from 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays at 35 S. Spanish St.

A recent news release from the market stated it seeks a variety of vendors for farm goods, such as fruits, vegetables and meat; artisan crafts; value-added products such as jams, jellies and baked items; and prepared foods. A vendor meeting is planned for 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the basement of First Presbyterian Church, 235 Broadway.

The Cape Farmers Market begins April 16. It will set up from noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays behind West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau.

In Marble Hill, Missouri, managers of the Bollinger County Farmers Market are preparing to open for the season April 4.

Co-manager Karen Null said the market is a good place to find a selection of live animals, especially during May, when market vendors offer rabbits, guineas, chickens, goats and other animals. Produce, plants, homemade soaps and frozen beef and pork also are sold at the market.

The market is behind the Bollinger County Co-op on Route 34 from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday through October.

In Perryville, Missouri, the board that represents the local farmers market at the Perry Park Center on Saturdays still is working to organize the first day of the season, likely in May, a city employee said.

eragan@semissourian.com

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