This Thursday marks the last regularly scheduled day for the outdoor Innisfil Farmers’ Market.
Although, if the weather holds, vendors and market manager Jaime Grant have vowed to continue setting up in the south parking lot at the Innisfil Recreation Complex every Thursday from 1-6 p.m. until the end of October.
The upcoming market will be special for several other reasons: It’s Thanksgiving; there will be an Artisanal Fair that Grant is calling a “Mini Kempenfest,” a reference to Barrie’s annual Arts and Crafts festival – and the entries in the annual pumpkin-carving competition will be judged.
This year, categories include members of town council; emergency services and community groups; and members of the general public, in three age groups — over 18, 12 to 18, and under 12.
“The community table is looking like it’s going to be quite full,” said Grant, with entries from Innisfil Fire & Rescue, South Simcoe police, the Innisfil ideaLAB and Library, Innisfil Arts, Culture and Heritage Council, Innisfil Community Events Corp., Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, the Innisfil Food Bank, and the Community Fridge. Prizes, trophies and bragging rights are up for grabs.
Entry is free, but donations for the food bank and the Community Fridge are encouraged. Participants are asked to bring their pumpkins to the market by 2:30 p.m. Judging takes place at 3 p.m.
Pumpkins, arts and crafts, fresh produce, fresh baking – Thanksgiving shoppers will find the bounty of the harvest and more at the Innisfil Farmers’ Market, and vendors are taking extra steps to ensure visitors won’t be disappointed.
Tom Bouhs, of Rosie’s Meat Pies, is making extra turkey pies. Stuffed with turkey breast, cranberries and sweet potatoes, “it’s Thanksgiving in a meal.”
And Grant, who operates The Summer Oven Bakery, will be bringing her own pies – “pumpkin and apple and pecan — and Fern tarts, a specialty item people get for Thanksgiving.”
She has been taking pre-orders, “but I always bring extra.”
For more information on the Innisfil Farmers’ Market, or on the Pumpkin Carving Contest, click here.
