Carnation Farmers Market
THE MARKET OPENS NEXT TUESDAY - MAY 13TH, 2008!
The Carnation Farmers Market is in it's fifth year of providing a way for local farmers and artisan food producers to sell directly to the community who come to market from around the region. We are sponsored by the Sno-Valley Tilth and are members of the Washington State Farmers Market Association ensuring our focus on providing local, healthy, organic, and sustainable foods.
How can you get to the market sustainably? The theme for the 2008 market is "Getting to the Market - Sustainably"! We encourage our patrons to walk, bike, harness a horse, hitch a ride, use the SVT shuttle, drive an alternatively-fueled vehicle, take the trail, carpool or swing by on your way home and enjoy the seasonal harvest, entertainment, and community. Special events will be hosted and drawings will be held throughout the summer to discover and support alternative and sustainable transportation
2008 Season: You'll find us Tuesdays, 3 to 7pm, from May 13 through September 30 in the heart of downtown Carnation, right off Tolt Avenue (Highway 203) and Bird Street. We are one block east of City Hall. Just look for our huge street banner and sandwich-board signs. Our grassy areas and playground park provide an opportunity to linger, listen to music, enjoy prepared foods and visit.
E-Mail Newsletter (back to top)
Subscribe now to the Carnation Farmers Market e-Newsletter. Get weekly fresh sheets and Market information along with helpful links, recipes, and more! Just enter your e-mail address below. Click to read our most recent newsletter!
Who's at the Market? (back to top)
The 2008 season opens with a full slate of returning vendors and a select group of new vendors for the best season yet! Look for a "fresh list" of produce and items to be offered by our vendors each week at the market in the e-newsletter!
Returning Vendors
· Alpine Trees– Unique and edible trees, shrubs and groundcovers
· Blue Dog Farm – Blue Dog Farm has expanded to include veggies and will be at market all season with organic vegetables and berries
· Dog Mountain Farm – Dog Mountain Farm returns after a two year absence specializing in Certified Natural vegetables and eggs
· Flowercharmers – Unique flower bouquets, planters, nursery starts
· Full Circle Farm – Organic vegetables, herbs and fruit
· George's Bakery – Fresh pastries, sweet breads, desserts and more
· Hermosa Mexican Food – Tamales, taco salad, burritos and more
· Kao Lee Garden – Flower bouquets and vegetables
· Kittitas Valley Greenhouse – Heirloom tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and more
· Misty Mountain Mountain - Varietal honey, beeswax candles and more
· Preston Hill Bakery – Wood-fired, artisan bread made from local grains
· Rocky Prairie Herbs – Herb, heirloom tomatoes, squash plants and more
· Strawberry Girl – Strawberries, strawberry plants and more
· Tater-Mater Man – Organic, specialty bread seed potatoes
· Valley Growers – Berries, hanging baskets, veggies, eggs and more
· Zen Garden – Flowers bouquets and organic vegetables
· Collins' Family Orchard – Orchard fruits and vegetables from Selah
· Lavender Lane – Lavender products and distilled oils from their farm
· Oxbow Farms – Organic vegetables, herbs and fruit
· Chocolate Serenade (formerly Bite Me Chocolate) - Handmade truffles with flair
New Vendors
· Golden Glen Creamery – Golden Glen Creamery is a wonderful addition to our market, providing much-needed dairy products to round out our shoppers' baskets. Low-pasteurized, non-homogenized milk, cream and other dairy products, and glass bottled milk draw praise from market customers at other markets. They also create cheeses and other prepared dairy products.
· Heart of Dreams Alpaca – Hand-woven alpaca products from their own alpacas
· Sno-Valley Senior Center - The Sno-Valley Senior Center has worked hard to be at market this year. They will be serving grilled burgers with sweet Walla Walla onions, and Grandma’s fresh pies every-other week. This will be a major fundraiser for the center, and this a great way to support our senior center.
· Tonnemaker Brothers' Farm – Organic fruits, melons, squash and vegetables from Royal City (starting in June)
· Sky Valley Farm– Chicken eggs (to be sold at the info booth until another's farm can supply the market)
Our Mission
(back to top)
To provide the community with fresh, locally grown farm products while providing farmers with an outlet for their crops. In addition, we seek to educate the public about the importance of local agriculture and the value found in our rich, farming heritage. By bringing people together for a farmers market, we help promote a greater sense of community, serve as an educational forum, and encourage local business development.
Events
(back to top)Friends of the Market
Stop by the information booth at the market to find out how to join! News on events is sent out periodically via email; below are some activities that Friends of the Market enjoy:
Farm Tours: Occasionally, tours are organized of local Snoqualmie Valley farms and other vendor operations, generally in the off-season.
Pot-Luck Dinners: During the fall and winter months, social and educational gatherings are offered, bringing together local farmers, residents and sponsors to enjoy the seasonal harvest.
Help Our Market Grow - Sponsorships
(back to top)2008 Chef’s Demo Sponsor
Sponsorships available: 4 Donation: $500
Chef’s demonstrations are one of the most popular events at the market and play a vital role inspiring people to use market produce. Your generous donation will be acknowledged with prominent placement of your banner or signage in the Chef's Demo tent, recognition in our press releases and advertising, day of event fliers and recipe cards, and your website or email link added to our website and e-newsletter throughout the season.
2008 "Music on the Grass" Sponsor
Sponsorships available: 1 Donation: $1,200
Market patrons enjoy listening to music on the grass while shopping, often lingering to watch the live performers. The market will acknowledge your contribution by prominently displaying your organization's banner on the music tent to be seen by everyone throughout the season; recognition throughout the market season in related press releases, market event calendars and posters Contributions help us find the finest in local and regional talent as well as help publicize our wonderful line-up of shows.
Special Event Sponsors
Sponsorships available: 4 Donation: $500
Four special events bring celebrations to the market this year: Opening Day, Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest, Back to School Shindig, and our special End of the Season Celebration. Your contribution helps pay for advertising and attention-getters for the event, contest prizes, party favors, and special performers. Your business or organization's name will be prominently displayed during the market event, on all related posters, fliers and calendars, along with recognition in all press releases and advertising. Links to your website or email will remain on our website and e-newsletter throughout the season.
Advertising Sponsors
Sponsorships available: 16 Donation: $200
Advertising is one of the biggest costs for our market. Your contribution will pay for one week's worth of advertisements in two local newspapers to help draw patrons into town to shop the market and local businesses. Each add will include recognition
Market Flyer Sponsors
Sponsorships available: 10 Donation: $250
The market flyer goes out in over 850 Carnation utility bills twice during the season, up on bulletin boards all over the valley, and out to all kinds of community groups. Put a business card size ad for your business or organization's name and logo on the flyer to show your support!
Co-Advertising Support
Give the market a little of your advertising space in your usual venues or donate some time. Advertise in a local newspaper? Mention the market at the bottom of your ad. Sending out a refrigerator magnet? Drop in some market information at the top. Have a webpage running? Link to the market webpage. Put out a newsletter? Give us a paragraph on the front.Volunteer to help our farmers and community
Our vendor fees are kept very low, and therefore cannot fund the staff needed to operate the market on a weekly basis. We depend on volunteers for the market to maintain its level of customer amenities, education, music and special events. Please consider sharing a few hours of your time this season for our continued success.
- Come share your enthusiasm for supporting our local farmers by helping to staff our information booth, help with food sampling, children's activities in our children's booth, assist at special events and chef's demo.
- Come early or stay late and help to set up or take down the information, demonstration, children and musicians canopies, and assorted market amenities. We have a task board you can select from to make this as much or little as you choose, while you can work independently.
- Do you have a favorite recipe or food preservation technique you'd like to share, that supports using local foods? We are expanding our food demonstrations and would love your help.
- Put out a market sign near your house. Let folks know you are glad the market is here and show you care about our lovely community! We especially need sandwich boards put up in the Fall City, Ames Creek and downtown Carnation area.
Are you a famer or artisan and want to be a part of our Market?
(back to top)
Last year we saw an 83% increase in gross sales, and about 50% more vendors and customers. We are proud of our reputation as a small, high quality market with a focus on food. This year we are actively seeking more organic fruits and berries; cheese and dairy products; meat, egg, seafood, and poultry; nuts, dried fruits, vegetable and grain producers.New this year we will be also seeking select artisan/craft vendors:
(From our 2008 guidelines): Artist must craft with their own hands the products they offer for sale, using raw farm or wild-crafted materials from the local area, using a majority of tools and equipment which require skills, handling and guidance by the crafter. When selecting Artisan/ Craft vendors, we will only select product that is related in some way to the market, weekly shopping needs and/or be garden or farm related. We are particularly interested in supporting fiber, wood, plant, hide, herbal and similar products, such as (but not limited to) baskets, bentwood trellises or gates, woven or felted wool clothing items, herbal body care, sheepskin and hides, etc. reflecting the rural nature of our market.
Located 25 miles east of Seattle, Carnation is in the heart of King County, a rapidly growing area with a large, diverse population. The Carnation Farmers Market is conveniently located on the primary route through town, State Route 203, and offers a prime location with excellent visibility and easy parking for market customers.
If you are interested in selling at the market, please read the 2008 Guidelines and Policies for the Carnation Farmers Market, download and fill out the application, and return to the address below.
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open these files.
To obtain a free copy of the reader, visit: Adobe Acrobat Reader Download2008 Guidelines and Policies 2008 Vendor Application
Or email us at info@carnationfarmersmarket.org or phone 206-333-6050 to receive a package by mail.
Market Sponsors (back to top)
No farmers market is successful without support from sponsor donations, grants, and in-kind contributions. We wish to thank the following organizations for their support:HopeLink
King Conservation District
Sno-Valley Senior Center
King County Agriculture Commission
Sno-Valley Tilth
Snoqualmie Nation
HumanLinks FoundationTo make a donation, make checks payable to Carnation Farmers Market and send to the address below.