Downtown Elgin Farmers Market set to open June 4

Warmer weather means strolls along Spring Street for fresh veggies and other goodies are just around the corner.

The Downtown Elgin Farmers Market will kick off its 21st year June 4 on Spring Street between West Chicago and Fulton streets.

The market is operated by the Downtown Neighborhood Association. Executive director Jennifer Fukala said she's excited for the return of the summer favorite.

"It's all the more important this year as we're coming out of COVID," Fukala said. "Let's go out and do stuff again."

So far, organizers have 26 confirmed vendors, though applications are still being accepted. Returning favorites include Broadview Farm and Gardens, Emmy & J Gourmet, Three Bees Honey, and meats from Farmer Nicks. There will be more produce this year with new vendors such as Chef Heatley's Hot Pepper Farm and Bluff City Gardens, as well as a pair of new flower farms.

And knife sharpening will be back by popular demand.

Fukala said a knife sharpener was one of the biggest requests they saw on their postseason survey for the past few years. She said the vendor who used to do it died a few years ago. This year, Sharpening by Dave will be available on select dates throughout the run of the market.

While they are hopeful Illinois will be in Phase 5 of pandemic mitigations within the first few weeks of the market, Fukala said they will follow the guidance of the Illinois Farmers Market Association. They plan to space booths apart as they did last year when they still had more than 13,000 customers - a "slight dip" from the previous year.

"And the feedback we got from vendors was that even though attendance was down a little, sales were high," she said.

Fukala said that if Illinois gets to Phase 5, outside alcohol sales may be permitted by a few businesses within the market zone. Those businesses - Al's Cafe, Dream Hall and Side Street Studio Arts - would have to apply for a special permit to serve drinks outside.

"Things need to line up, but we're hoping to be able to offer it as soon as we can," Fukala said.