KANAB, UT - The county farmer’s market, hosted in Kanab and welcome to all, has picked back up for its 2022 season, and the Wednesday, June 29 market was appropriately eventful. Two dozen stalls, over a hundred attendees, and a live performance by the Chris Paul Band promised a lively evening - so naturally it started raining just after business started in earnest. But the show must go on, so the band played through the inclement weather, and a few stubborn stalls operated from underneath canopies.
Luckily, the market continues throughout the summer season and well into fall, so there will be many more chances to check things out in better weather; some of the goods on display at Wednesday’s market included market staples like produce, eggs, and preserves, to local cultural pieces like art, floral arrangements, and photography, all the way to more exotic offerings like gourmet mushrooms and hand-crafted sand soap. Everything is locally grown or crafted, and anyone with such products are welcome to set up a stall.
The event is now organized, in conjunction with local volunteers, by Victoria Xiong, from Utah State University’s local extension. Dr. Xiong works with USU’s horticulture and agriculture programs, as well as their master gardener program - she also helped organize the largest farmer’s market in Tennessee for a time.
As she puts it, “I’ve got lots of firsthand experience! A farmer’s market is a perfect way to fit into a community, and attendance for Kane County’s has tripled since last year! We’re hoping to see more people selling, more locals and more tourists showing up; I’d like to see some of our non-profit plant clinics to come, and some of our master gardener’s program attendees too. People can have their farmers market and buy things, but also learn more.”
The June 29 market was held at the Kanab Center to accommodate the live entertainment, but its regular location is the parking lot at the Office of Tourism off Kanab’s Center Street. In addition to the regular Wednesday markets, some of the vendors also set back up on Friday mornings, 9 a.m. to noon, on the lawn in between the Comfort Suites and State Bank, providing a second chance for preserves, mushrooms, greens or even some of the local fresh Angus beef.
Families are welcome at both parts of the market, and usually the opportunity permits some of the vendors to have dinner options on sale on Wednesday evenings - the location is pet friendly too. The event is slated to continue until September or October, of course depending on how long vendors have goods to sell and how interested folks are in attending - any vendors wishing to participate can contact Victoria Xiong at the USU extension office in Kanab. The Wednesday markets are typically in full swing by 6:30 p.m. at the Office of Tourism, and the Friday markets go from 9 a.m. till noon next to State Bank.
Here’s to hoping there will still be plenty of precipitation in the area going forward … just perhaps not right as folks are trying to run an open-air market next time.
