Franklin Farmers’ Market opens for their 20th summer season on Sunday May 24th in the Village of Franklin on Institute Street. The market offers locals produce and products every Sunday from Memorial Day weekend to Columbus Day weekend from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Vendors from Franklin and surrounding towns will sell baked goods, beef, beer, botanical bath & body products, burgers, chicken, eggs, fudges, garlic & scapes, herbs, household products, honey & beeswax products, fruits in season, hickory syrup, jams & jellies, maple syrup & candies, meat rubs & spice mixes, mushrooms, novelties, plants, pork, salads & soups, fresh & smoked trout, a variety of seasonal vegetables, tallow soaps & vegan skin care products, and vintage clothes. Services available include knife sharpening.
Returning vendors include Bittersweet Farm Brewery, Empire Angus Farm, Enough and a Little Bit More, Hare and Feather Farm, Grateful Market, Off-Road Maple, Skytop Springs Fish Farm, Soap by Nature, Squire’s Tankard, Stupid Bunny Acres, Uncle Nathan’s, 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 depends on the season and weather. For current vendors and offerings, check the Facebook page of the market. 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 its annual Start-of-Summer sale of plants and garden things. Franklin Recreation Committee will be selling costume jewelry and chocolates, and Franklin Community Education Foundation will be grilling Black Angus burgers beginning at 11 a.m. Come June 7th, Franklin Rotary will hold its Sweet Summer bake sale.
Under the umbrellas, tables and chairs are for snacking, conversing, or just relaxing. Beverages are sold at the cafe tent: including coffee, tea, hot chocolate, seltzers, and water. On occasion, food trucks will park curbside.
Local buskers stop by to entertain, typically mid-market from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 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 each month. Musicians are invited to schedule with the market manager.
This is the bidecennial year of Franklin Farmers’ Market providing a venue for local artists, bakers, chefs, 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 thirty years, it has housed the Franklin Stage Company, offering free professional theater. This year, their season begins on Friday July 3rd.
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 the last Sunday of the month and by appointment.
Brunches are offered around the corner on Main Street at The Tulip and the Rose Café. Shops include ATLAS Home of Innovation, Blue Farm Antiques & Letterpress Printing, Botanical Treasures, GaryGraham422, Good Taste Epicurean Market, Good Taste Fine Wine and Spirits, and Kabinett & Kammer, and King’s.
Franklin Stage Company offers its productions at 5 p.m. on Sundays: in July, the play Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare and in August, premier of The Civilities by Kyle Bass.
Market is a community effort: hosted by Franklin Stage Company and managed by Franklin Local.