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Photos by Andy Brack<\/p>\nOh, those village markets in France. What a delight.<\/p>\n
Bowls of green olives, tapenade, nuts and dates. Fresh strawberries so sweet you could freeze them and grind them into sugar. Carrots, peppers, cabbages, peaches, nectarines, tomatoes \u2014 all fresh and bursting with flavor. Nearby are all manner of cheeses. Meats, including lots of duck in the Dordogne valley, fill the butcher\u2019s stall and fruits of the sea are on ice at the fishmonger\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Nearby, you can buy belts, charms, bracelets, jewelry, bags, underwear, toys and more. These weekly markets are held just about every day of the week throughout France. They are a vital lifeblood of community life. Not only do they offer a place for local artisans to sell their goods, but they hum as arteries for people to connect and share.<\/p>\n
Photos by Andy Brack<\/p>\n
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Credit: Andy Brack<\/p>\n
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While French markets have flourished for hundreds of years and are a necessity for fresh food in places without grocery stores, farmers markets seem to be making a comeback across the Lowcountry. Charleston long has had a Saturday farmers market that gave truck farmers a place to sell produce and crafters a place to share their art. These days, there are at least 16 weekly summer markets in the area with at least one held every day of the week except Tuesdays or Fridays.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that you\u2019ve counted 16 markets across the region is remarkable,\u201d said Maud Bentley of Lowcountry Local First, which has been pushing the \u201cbuy local\u201d mantra for years. \u201cThat tells me that the movement is not just surviving, but it\u2019s thriving.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, we\u2019ll see younger farmers step up into the space as older generations phase out. As Charleston continues to grow and become more diverse, we\u2019ll likely see the local market scene evolve to reflect that cultural richness and diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mount Pleasant\u2019s Tuesday market<\/p>\n
Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie says part of his identity is being \u201cMayor at the Market\u201d every Tuesday during market season.<\/p>\n
He said having the market keeps Mount Pleasant\u2019s sense of being a town, even though almost 100,000 people live there now.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite our population size, we are still a town at heart and it shows at the farmers market,\u201d he said. \u201cI hear every week from our residents how much they love our market, and I sometimes also get an earful or two about town issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the happiest day in Mount Pleasant and wonderful to see residents gathering and having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Haynie said he has attended about 100 Tuesday markets to meet and greet residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe experience has improved my connection with our residents and my knowledge of farmers markets. He said that the key to a good market is having quality vendors who show up reliably.
\u201cThe reason it\u2019s not year-round is to stay a true farmers market and not become a craft show or flea market when produce is not in season.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that the Tuesday market, around since 1998, has been so successful that residents in the northern part of the community wanted something there. So the town added a Makers Mart on Fridays in Park West, where he also shows up to hear from residents. It\u2019s not as big, but it\u2019s growing.<\/p>\n
Colleton Museum\u2019s two markets<\/p>\n
Matt Mardell, who runs the Colleton Museum and Farmers Market in Walterboro, grew up in England among village markets. He thinks a big reason that markets are an integral part of communities there is because Europeans walk more than Americans.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can walk to the shop, to the butcher, the baker, the grocers, the markets, even the pubs, that is what we do and therefore they (markets) just seem so commonplace and successful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A few years back when Walterboro invested in a downtown museum, it included a commercial kitchen and a market to push the \u201cbuy local\u201d message, Mardell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe farmers at the stands are people of our community who do that very primal function of growing for sustenance,\u201d he said. \u201cThey live here and they grow for her and locals respond to that. The Colleton Farmers Market has a very diverse range of shoppers who are very loyal and who visit frequently.\u201d<\/p>\n
The facility operates markets on Saturday mornings and Tuesday evenings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is very much a community hub (with) the museum, the cafe with its lunch offerings coming out of the Colleton commercial kitchen food business incubator, the gift shop and the event space,\u201d he said. \u201cIt makes being an entrepreneur so easy for our local growers and crafters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mardell said that another advantage of the Colleton markets is that it has the ability to process EBT\/SNAP transactions for customers who want to use food assistance through the state\u2019s Healthy Bucks Program. That, he said, has increased accessibility across the community and makes the facility broadly attractive to lots of people.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we lost our market, we\u2019d lose this diverse hub of activity right in the heart of our downtown that serves every single member of our community and had done in this format for almost 15 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
His advice for others who want to grow markets: \u201cKeep it accessible and not too restricted and the possibilities are really endless for markets to provide community-responsive opportunities
for betterment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sundays at the Pour House on James Island<\/p>\n
That sense of community that one feels in a French village market is as thick as humidity at the Pour House on James Island every Sunday.<\/p>\n
Meg Moore, who co-operates the market with former City Paper photographer Adam Chandler, said the James Island market was intentionally created to bring people together more
as a community.<\/p>\n
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Photo courtesy Sunday Brunch Farmer\u2019s Market<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to create this environment where you can come and relax and enjoy yourself \u2014 do your grocery shopping, hang out and meet some new people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Not too long ago, a visitor told her that the Pour House market was very like a European market, which Moore said was a huge compliment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe energy here is good,\u201d she said \u201cIt is the antithesis of being exclusive. Everybody is welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part of the success of the year-round market is that vendors have the right energy and people seem to be cool with neighbors at the market. There\u2019s yoga on the deck before the market gets going. Then live music starts at 11 a.m. And two hours later, the weekly house band cranks it up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe community vibe is alive and well at our market,\u201d Chandler said, noting the market has been around for the last 10 years. \u201cIt\u2019s really grown over the years and every Sunday it\u2019s a full house with close to 50 vendors, including food trucks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Find markets near you<\/p>\n
Markets are seasonal, unless marked by an asterisk indicating it is weekly.<\/p>\n
Charleston<\/p>\n
Charleston Farmers Market, Saturdays, Marion Square.<\/p>\n
Goose Creek<\/p>\n
Central Creek Farmers Market, 1st and 3rd Wednesday, 519 N. Goose Creek Blvd.<\/p>\n
Goose Creek Farmers Market (*), Saturdays, 519 N. Goose Creek Blvd.<\/p>\n
James Island<\/p>\n
Sunday Brunch Farmers Market (*), Sundays, 1977 Maybank Highway.<\/p>\n
Johns Island<\/p>\n
Sea Islands Farmers Market (*), Saturdays, 2024 Academy Road.<\/p>\n
St. John\u2019s Farmers Market, Wednesdays, 3673 Maybank Highway.<\/p>\n
McClellanville<\/p>\n
McClellanville Growers Market (*), Saturdays, 711 Pinckney St.<\/p>\n
Moncks Corner<\/p>\n
Moncks Corner Farmers Market, Thursdays, 418 E. Main St.<\/p>\n
Mount Pleasant<\/p>\n
Mount Pleasant Farmers Market, Tuesdays, 645 Coleman Blvd. The weekly Makers Market occurs on Fridays at the Park West Recreational Complex.<\/p>\n
North Charleston<\/p>\n
Holy City Farmers Market (*), Sundays, 1021 Aragon Ave.<\/p>\n
North Charleston Farmers Market, Thursdays, 4800 Park Circle.<\/p>\n
Ravenel<\/p>\n
Ravenel Depot Farmers Market, 1st and 3rd Saturdays, 5775 Highway 165.<\/p>\n
Summerville<\/p>\n
Summerville Farmers Market, Saturdays, 218 South Main St.<\/p>\n
Walterboro<\/p>\n
Colleton Museum & Farmers Market, Tuesdays, Saturdays. 506 E. Washington St.<\/p>\n
West Ashley<\/p>\n
West Ashley Farmers Market, Wednesdays, 55 Sycamore Ave.<\/p>\n
\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n
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