The Franklin Farmers’ Market starts the summer season on Sunday May 25th. The market hours are every Sunday from Memorial Day weekend to Columbus Day weekend from 10am to 2pm. The market offers locals produce and products for sale in the fresh air and sunshine.
Vendors from Franklin and surrounding towns will sell baked goods, beef, botanical bath & body products, chicken, eggs, fudge & cashew brittle, garlic & scapes, vegan soap, herbs, household products, honey & beeswax products, fruits in season, hickory syrup, jams & jellies, maple syrup & candies, meat rubs & spice mixes, gourmet marshmallows, mushrooms, novelties, plants, pork, preserves & relishes, fresh & smoked trout, and a variety of vegetables.
Returning vendors include Chubby Bunny Confections, Empire Angus Farm, Enough and a Little Bit More, Hare and Feather Farm, Kneadin’ Dough, Off-Road Maple, Skytop Springs Fish Farm, Stupid Bunny Acres, Uncle Nathan’s, Whimsical Kitty, and Wild View Farm. Vendors come from Andes, Bovina, Franklin, Greene, Laurens, Oneonta, Sidney Center, Treadwell, and Unadilla. New vendors are welcomed.
Some vendors are semi-regular and produce is seasonal. For current vendors and offerings, check the Facebook page of the market at: https://www.facebook.com/FranklinNYFarmersMarket/ Franklin accepts coupons from the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program.
The market hosts fundraisers for community organizations free of charge. Opening day, Franklin Improvement Society will hold a sale of plants and garden things. Meg Shivers will be grilling burgers for the Franklin Community Education Foundation beginning at 11 a.m. Franklin Rotary will hold its bake sale on June 8th.
Under the umbrellas, tables and chairs are for snacking, conversing, or just relaxing. Beverages are sold at the cafe tent: coffee, tea, seltzers, and water.
Local buskers stop by to entertain, typically from 11:00 to 1:00. Starting off, the perennially popular singer/songwriter Bill Steely with his son Wade will be playing on opening day. Local Seisiún trio will return with their traditional Irish music on the first Sunday of the month. Other musicians are invited to schedule with the market manager.
This is the 19th year of Franklin Farmers’ Market providing a venue for local artists, bakers, confectioners, craftsmen, and farmers on the lawn of Chapel Hall, which was built in the 1850s as part of the Delaware Literary Institute. A half century later, this three-story post-and-beam Greek Revival became the temple of the Free and Accepted Masons, Lodge #562. For the last quarter century, it has housed the Franklin Stage Company, offering free professional theater. This year, their season begins on Friday July 4th.
The entire village of Franklin is on the National Historic Registry, and a self-guided walking tour is available. It is situated along State Highway 357, part of the historic Catskill/Susquehanna Turnpike, which in the early 1800s was a main route from the Hudson River landing at Catskill to the western frontier on the Susquehanna River. Franklin Railroad and Community Museum on Main Street is open afternoons on last Sunday of the month, including on the 25th.
Breakfasts and lunches are offered around the corner on Main Street at The Tulip and the Rose Café, and Yokel restaurant. Shops include Blue Farm Antiques & Letterpress Printing, Botanical Treasures, GaryGraham422, Good Taste Epicurean Market, Good Taste Fine Wine and Spirits, Kabinett & Kammer, King’s, and Lava atelier.
Franklin Stage Company offers its shows on Sunday afternoons: in July, the plays Kimberly Akimbo and Magdalene; and in August, Bridgman | Packer Dance and the play Red.
Market is a community effort: hosted by Franklin Stage Company and managed by Franklin Local.
For more information: Trish Tyrell, market manager, email ffm@franklinlocal.org