Farmers markets returning this summer

By Tim Kalinowski on March 17, 2021.

Herald photo by Tim Kalinowski Lethbridge and District Exhibition COO Mike Warkentin answers reporters' questions on Tuesday after announcing the return of both the regular and downtown farmers markets this summer.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com

Both the Saturday and the Downtown Farmers Markets will be returning to Lethbridge this summer.
Lethbridge and District Exhibition Chief Operating Officer Mike Warkentin confirmed the markets’ return at a press conference on Tuesday.
The Saturday morning markets will be starting up at Exhibition Park on May 8 between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.
“Consumers can anticipate very similar protocols to what they were last year,” he stated.
“As well, we will have strict capacity controls on the market as well as social distancing and sanitization protocols.”
Due to upgrades being completed on Festival Square on 6th Street South this summer, the Downtown Farmers Market will again be held at the corner of 2nd Avenue South and 5th Street South every Wednesday starting on July 7.
The downtown market will run between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on those days.
This year, said Warkentin, the markets will feature an outdoor food service area which will be anchored by Stirling’s Hickory Street southern-style barbecue. Owner Devynn Bohn will serve as the market’s official Pitmaster for the experience.
“We are very excited to have them as part of this, and we really think the community will be as well,” stated Warkentin.
That outdoor area may or may not include live music as Alberta Health regulations permit, Warkentin said.
“In 2019 that was something we definitely did incorporate into the market,” he acknowledged.
“However, last year it was forbidden under the rules and restrictions around the Farmers Market, and what we could actually do, and what was considered part of an approved market. And so it will depend on just what the protocols allow at the time (of opening).”
Warkentin said the Farmers Markets enjoyed “record numbers” last year, and he anticipated there would likely be similar numbers this summer.
For more information visit the Exhibition Park website at exhibitionpark.ca

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