McCall Farmers Market Organizers Look Back on the 2020 Season
Photo courtesy of Julie Conrad
Will you help them plan next year?
Story by Lex Nelson
Photo courtesy of Susie Marshall
As gardener Patsy Kelley tells it, the early days of the McCall Farmers Market in the 1990s were humble ones. She and a few other vendors would drive to a parking lot off Pine Street in downtown McCall, pop their trunks, and sell produce straight to locals and tourists passing by on foot.
“I think there were four of us selling out of the trunks of our vehicles. Actually, I had a van — I opened the slider door,” said Kelley, who sells fresh produce under the name High Country Gardens.
Today, Kelley is the assistant manager of the market, serving under the original organizer and now-Manager, Susie Marshall. By 2019, the two had watched the market grow to more than 20 vendors packed into close quarters. But after nearly three decades in business, this season Kelley and Marshall faced a new challenge: a global pandemic.
Photo courtesy of Patsy Kelley
“The gift was that Brundage [Mountain Ski Resort] called us and asked if we wanted to use the tubing hill [as a market site.] We went out there and kind of weighed it. It was a mile or so out of town and it was just so contrary to everything we had done so far being in the middle of the community. But we decided to do it and it turned out to be a great boon,” Marshall said.
The bi-weekly market opened a month late on July 15, with social distancing, a mask requirement, and sanitization measures in place. Thanks to the increased space, Marshall said people were able to shop “six feet and one cow apart.” There were fewer vendors in attendance this year — Kelley estimates 10 on Saturdays and 6-8 on Wednesday — but the market still saw a solid turnout of 250 to 500-plus people per day, despite its limited hours. All in all, Kelley said she ended the season on Oct. 10 just $500 short of what she would have made in a typical year.
Photo courtesy of Julie Conrad
The future home of the market is up in the air until a downtown construction project is finalized and the all-volunteer board meets to rehash the season. Without complete records of past attendance, it will be difficult for them to gauge the pandemic’s impact and the success of the new spot.
“The things we have to weigh are just how crowded it is downtown during the summer and just how difficult it is to park,” Marshall said, adding that Brundage has invited the vendors back next year, and the market hopes to expand in the coming season.
To aid their decision, Marshall is soliciting feedback from vendors and attendees, including those who didn’t make it to the market this year. If you’re a McCall resident and would like to contribute your thoughts, visit the McCall Farmers Market Facebook page and comment on the Oct. 12 post.
