The Crossfield Farmers' Market (CFM) is set to kick off the 2020 season June 4 with measures in place to protect vendors and patrons.
CFM Manager Cheryl Shea said the market will run every Thursday from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. until Sept. 24 in the parking lot of the Crossfield Community Centre. She added the market will operate at half-capacity this year, with about 42 vendors on site each week.
CFM is implementing protocols to ensure attendees can practice social distancing. These measures include the arrangement of one-way traffic for shoppers and spacing vendors out every two metres.
“There will be one entrance into the market, off Railway Street,” Shea said. “You can pull into the back parking lot to park, but you have to come to the [front] entrance. You’ll go into the market that way. There will be directional flow, so we’ll be set up similarly to last year, so you can walk in a big circle, and then exit out the same way.”
In addition to the local vendors on site, Shea said CFM will include a selection of food trucks.
“People can walk around the market, pick up what they need, stop for supper and then head home,” she said.
- INTERACTIVE MAP: See the latest COVID-19 statistics across Canada by province/territory on our interactive map.
While there will only be half the number of vendors compared to a normal year, Shea said CFM is going to play it by ear before deciding whether or not to cap the number of shoppers.
“Because of the directional flow, we’re going to wait and see,” she said. “There will be social distancing in place, with signs, pylons, etc. – if we have to implement and cap a number, and monitor coming-and-going, we will.”
Masks are not mandatory, Shea said, but residents who do not feel well are asked to stay home.
The return of the weekly market comes after CFM had to postpone its annual spring farmers’ market until September due to COVID-19. The one-time yearly event, which takes place in April, usually attracts more than 100 vendors.
Despite disruptions caused by the pandemic caused, Shea said she is excited to get the weekly market up and running and to see shoppers perusing the available wares. Since farmers' markets have been deemed an essential service by the Alberta government, she said it makes sense they be allowed to operate this summer.
“In all honesty, I think outdoor markets are a very safe idea,” she said. “We just can’t wait to see them.”
Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19
