Elgin Farmers Market wraps up 2020 season Friday

The Elgin Farmers Market wraps up it's 2020 season Friday, a season that has certainly been unlike any other.

"This season has been full of challenges, primarily due to the pandemic, but we've learned to adapt and really see the community step up and support our vendors," said market manager Christina Gonzales.

The outdoor market is organized by the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin. The market moved to Spring Street this year, about a block east of its usual location, to allow more space for social distancing between vendor booths.

"The new location has been well received from not only the vendors, but customers and even some businesses along Spring as well," Gonzales said.

"Customers enjoy the fact there's ample parking close to the market, and businesses like Mama Lee's have shared they're thankful for the extra foot traffic."

The average weekly attendance has dropped by almost 300 people, from just under 1,200 in 2019 to just over 900 this year, according the market's midseason report. The full year report will be completed next week, according to Gonzales. They've averaged five fewer vendor booths per week, partly due to restrictions that kept many artisan craft vendors from participating.

Vendor Mark Harris of Red Flower Organics, a family-owned organic farm out of Maple Park, was pleasantly surprised at how things have gone this year.

"I didn't know what to expect coming into it," Harris said. "I was a little scared for business but it's been great."

"Customers have been great and traffic has been good, honestly," he said. "This has been a better season for us. People are more inclined to come to the markets now and want to go to grocery stores less."

Harris has been a vendor in Elgin for the last three years and also does markets in Batavia and Oswego.

"I like the vibe at this market a lot more. It's a younger-staffed market and they've done a lot of stuff before the pandemic with music and food demos and drinks and games and a lot stuff for the kids. It's a lot less serious than some other markets I'm at, which are kind of dry and boring."

Gonzales hopes to get back to normal next season.

"We hope to bring back our artisan craft vendors next year, since COVID restrictions made them unable to participate for a majority of the season," she said. "And we'll continue to try to expand our vendor selection and aim to bring in more fresh produce, as that is always the number-one request."