Mission City Farmers Market has called many places home during its lifetime.
After seven locations over 20 years, the market is still searching for the perfect spot.
The Farmers Market moved to Centennial Park as a trial last year and returned for its 2023 run.
However, Mission City Farmers Market president Mike Gildersleeve says the new location has received mixed reviews.
“We’re just sort of coming out of [COVID] and now trying to see if we can make the location work at Centennial Park,” he said. “It’s really a beautiful location, but we just have to find a way to answer the needs of vendors as well.”
Gildersleeve says vendors would like to be able to drive in to drop off their goods rather than carry them in a buggy because they can’t drive into the park.
“We don’t want to be losing vendors to the fact that [it] doesn’t work for them. Some are complaining that sales are down,” he said.
He says the grass can be uneven for some that are mobility-challenged but a new pathway has proven helpful.
The park offers an array of benefits as well. The hope for moving to Centennial Park was to become a destination market.
“It’d be answering the needs of the community but also people that are interested in seeing other markets that they would come and check us out,” he said.
The Farmers Market has been in operation since 1996 and is now at its seventh location. ,
It began in the West Coast Express parking lot from 1996 to 1999 before moving Pharmasave from 2000 to 2003, Pal’s Cafe from 2004 to 2006, Mission Library from 2007 to 2016, Mission Leisure Centre from 2017 to 2019 and Welton Common from 2019 to 2022.
The main reason for the latest move was a lack of washrooms and relief from heat at the Welton Common parking lot.
Centennial Park provided an answer to those problems.
“We’re still evaluating whether this is going to be a good spot because there are mixed reviews,” Gildersleeve said. “We’ve had a lot of different locations, and … we’re still looking for a home.”
Gildersleeve says it’s challenging to keep people informed of the location because the market has moved so many times.
“It’s been a bit of a process getting people re-engaged and I think we have lost a few vendors, but you know, things all always are changing,” he said.
There are plans to survey both vendors and the public to see if Centennial Park is the location of the future while searching for possible solutions to the challenges.
Meanwhile, the market is always on the hunt for vendors, volunteers and potential board members. Gildersleeve says it takes people to stand up and make the step to try it out.
“As a vendor – whether it’s growing stuff or making stuff or baking stuff – it’s quite an entrepreneurial exercise for people. It’s really beautiful to see,” he said.
In addition to the entrepreneurial benefits of the Farmers Market, Gildersleeve says it answers part of the issue around climate change as well.
“People want to source local food and if we can grow and have that, our communities will be more sustainable as well in the future,” he said.
After over 25 years, participation from the community has stayed consistent despite a shift during the pandemic.
“I hope that it’s going to continue and continue to grow and evolve because it’s really about building community and providing the space for that to happen,” Gildersleeve said.
The market opened for 2023 in May and remains open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Centennial Park until Oct. 21.
There are also plans for four indoor markets, with one a month slated for November, December, February and March.
The Mission City Farmers Market will also hold its annual general meeting on Sept. 27 at 6 p.m.