The Farmington Farmers’ Market opened for the season on Saturday, May 1. On Friday, May 7, few vendors and attendees were in attendance, but Farmington Farmers’ Market Association President Deborah Chadbourne ensures attendance will increase with time. Kay Neufeld/Livermore Falls Advertiser

FARMINGTON — After a year in hiatus due to the pandemic, The Farmington Farmers’ Market kicked off the 2021 season with “slow and steady” opening days on Saturday, May 1, and Friday, May 7.

The market, which has been around for “30 or 40 years,” was gone for an entire year after the Farmington Farmers’ Market Association (FFMA) decided not to hold a winter market due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It feels really good to be back,” said Deborah Chadbourne, owner of Rasmussen Farm and president of the FFMA. Chadbourne said that after losing several vendors due to the pandemic, she has “put a lot of effort into recruiting new vendors.” In total, Chadbourne anticipates seven vendors will be in attendance on Fridays and eight to ten in attendance on Saturdays.

Chadbourne said she had a “vision” when she took on the role as president of the FFMA two years ago. That vision involves requiring vendors to carry licenses, a requirement that not all towns and farmers’ markets enforce. However, Farmington does not have the food sovereignty ordinance that would make it legal to sell food products in a Maine municipality without a license. She said enforcing licenses “hasn’t been a problem.”

Changing the hours of the Friday Farmers’ Market was another vision Chadbourne enacted.

“We changed the hours to fit people’s lunch hours,” she said.

There were fewer expected vendors and patrons in attendance on Saturday, May 1 and Friday, May 7. However, Chadbourne said that the market will “get more busy when people get used to seeing us here and we get more vendors.”

If the spread of COVID-19 lightens up this summer, Chadbourne envisions a future for the market where they will set up tables and seating so patrons can “enjoy this nice grassy area.”

In order to abide by COVID-19 CDC protocols, the FFMA is asking patrons to wear masks when in attendance.

The market can be found on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Front Street, across from the Better Living Center and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the District Courthouse parking lot.