Spring is in full bloom, and area farmers markets are opening up — and continuing to operate, if they’re year-round — with seasonal produce, artisan goods and a rotating roster of food trucks and activities.
Last month, USA Today noted: “… the explosion of the farm-to-table movement in the United States has led to a steadily growing number of markets, with more than 8,600 registered in the USDA Farmers Market Directory.”
The Charleston region has 10 seasonal and annual farmers markets, from Folly Beach to Johns Island to Moncks Corner.
Charleston City Paper chatted with several local farmers market organizers about what’s new this year, what’s worked for them in the past and why farmers markets are integral to local communities.
New and improved
The North Charleston Farmers Market opened last month in Park Circle’s recently renovated Park Circle Pavilion. You can visit the market at 4800 Park Circle every Thursday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“I think we’re just really looking forward to reaching a whole lot more people,” said Ann Simmons, deputy director of North Charleston’s Cultural Arts Department. “This has always been a public service — to offer fresh produce to the Park Circle community.”
While farmers markets currently seem to be as popular as ever, it’s important to remember that beyond the aesthetically pleasing rows of fresh produce and flower arrangements, these markets serve as vital sources of healthy food for local folks.
“Even though it is based in Park Circle — and a lot of Park Circle families will benefit from the market, this is the North Charleston Farmers Market,” Simmons emphasized. “So we’re hoping to reach everyone in North Charleston.”
Food deserts, like North Charleston’s south end, lack nourishing food options, and farmers markets are a great source of fresh food for locals who can drive, walk, bike or take a bus to the weekly market.
The renovated pavilion features overhead fans and access to electricity, making things easier for vendor setup, especially during the dog days of Charleston summer.
Unfavorable conditions or not, “I don’t have any worry about people showing up,” Simmons said, about the popularity of the market in its new location. The redeveloped Park Circle Pavilion was part of last year’s $20 million dollar project, Park Circle Reimagined, which includes a new community building and the world’s largest inclusive playground. If you’ve ever driven past the new playground, at, well, any time of the day, you see what Simmons is talking about.
Throughout the farmers market’s past iterations, Simmons said the camaraderie — and sense of community — among vendors has never waned. “It’s not just between the people visiting the market, it’s between the vendors themselves and the vendors and our patrons as well,” she said.
- North Charleston Farmers Market
Thursdays 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
4800 Park Circle.
Vendors include: Joseph Fields Farm, Mav’s Microgreens, King of Pops, Travelin’ Toms Coffee and more.
Find the full list of vendors online at facebook.com/NoChasFarmersMarket.
A new kind of destination
Harrison Chapman, coordinator of the West Ashley Farmers Market and Charleston Farmers Markets, said that tourists are starting to seek out the West Ashley Farmers Market, held every Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Ackerman Park.
“We’re definitely seeing a lot of new folks coming out to West Ashley,” he said. “You have these folks that are staying out on Folly or nearby that are looking for something to do during the week.”
The West Ashley market, which started with a pilot program in 2016 and took off in 2017, currently features about 18 vendors, and according to Chapman, is growing. “We’re continuing to gradually increase our numbers, but in a smart way,” he said. “You know, we want there to be a healthy amount of competition, but we also want to set up our vendors for success. We want people to have options.”
Like the North Charleston Farmers Market, the West Ashley market features a rotating lineup of live music and food trucks. One market earlier this month even featured a free yoga class.
Managing it all, Chapman said, involves a lot of “connecting people to the right people and helping people partner with others.” He mentioned the current collaboration between kombucha company, Fizza Kombucha and local farm, Shuler Peach Company. Together they’ve created a flavor, Bloom, in honor of Charleston’s Poet Laureate, Asiah Mae. The drink features elderflower, lemon and fresh local strawberries from Shuler.
“I love that collaboration and it goes to show the sense of community among all of the vendors,” said Chapman, echoing Simmons’ sentiment about the North Charleston Farmers Market vendors.
Chapman also acknowledged all the hard work farmers market vendors put into making it to the market every week. From watching the weather to making sure you’re bringing enough — but not too much — product, vendors have to be flexible in the face of ever-changing conditions.
Unlike the small but mighty West Ashley Farmers Market, the Charleston Farmers Market, which takes place every Saturday morning in Marion Square (and on Sundays during the holiday shopping season), features about 80 vendors. Chapman said folks are constantly showing interest in becoming part of the large, popular market, and he works hard to fill any voids. “We love finding something that’s just not at the market altogether,” he said.
The downtown market, which recently made Southern Living’s list of “12 Farmers Markets In The South You Should Visit This Season,” will always feature the staples, though, with fresh, locally grown produce from small and large farmers alike.
“When you shop at farmers’ markets, you’re investing in the preservation of agricultural diversity, helping to protect heritage varieties and traditional farming methods,” Chapman said.
- West Ashley Farmers Market
Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Ackerman Park on Sycamore Avenue.
Vendors include: Super Mushroom Bros, Rooted in Charleston, R and R Acres and more. Learn more on Instagram at @washleyfarmersmarket. - Charleston Farmers Market
Every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Marion Square, Downtown.
Vendors include: Rio Bertolini’s Pasta, Botany Bay Carolina Sea Salt, Nanna’s Nuts and many more. Learn more online at charlestonfarmersmarket.com
Vibes and good times
If you’ve ever visited the Charleston Pour House on a Sunday morning, you’ve gotten to experience the fun of the Sunday Brunch Farmers Market. “We want the charisma and character of the market to be what it’s gonna be,” said Meg Moore, co-founder of the market.
Moore, along with Adam Chandler, started the market in 2012, when it was held in Riverland Terrace’s Medway Park for several years before moving to the Pour House, where it’s remained — and grown — ever since. Moore described Pour House as the “perfect partner” for the market.
The market can feature up to 50 vendors on any given Sunday, depending on weather and space (friendly reminder to move your cars from the Pour House parking lot before Sunday mornings). Moore said that she and Chandler are careful about incorporating new vendors into the fold and they make sure that both products and personalities mesh.
“We like it to be kind of intimate,” said Moore. “I love when vendors become friends and cross pollinate.”
Moore and Chandler have combined their talents — Moore is a former farmer and Chandler excels at bringing in musical acts — to curate a market that features everything from T-shirts to hemp extract to olive oil to ceramics.
In addition to shopping the wide variety of vendors, attendees can nosh on food from the Pour House’s current food concept in residency, bebop, or start the morning with a yoga class from Kate Counts on the Pour House deck.
“It’s a cool place for families, kids and dogs,” Moore said. “It’s so fun to just sit back and watch everything.”
- Sunday Brunch Farmers Market
Every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
1977 Maybank Hwy., James Island.
Vendors include: Artisan Tees, Cobble & Vine Candle Co.,
Fili-West Farms and more. Find the full list of vendors online at sundaybrunchfarmersmarket.com.
Resilience is the game
The Sea Island Farmers Market, located at the Charleston Collegiate School, brings out a wide variety of new and regular customers to its weekly Saturday morning market, held year round.
“We try to feel like a little kind of community center that pops up once a week,” said Sea Island Farmers Market organizer Kristy Bialas. In addition to the market’s vendors, Bialas said there are weekly “community spaces” where people can set up; recently a girl scout popped up in a community space to educate folks on marine debris and earn a badge.
Bialas said that farmers markets offer a space to “be calm for a minute.” Bialas would understand the importance of a market — she and partner Eric Rogers (the two also run Two Fat Cooks) took over the Johns Island-based market in 2020, when the market’s original iteration closed up shop. They renamed the market Sea Island and kept many of the same loyal vendors.
In a 2020 interview with City Paper, Bialas said: “We couldn’t let something like that disappear.”
These days the market is thriving, and Bialas said that’s due, in part, to the success of area markets in general. She noted that she was happy to see the North Charleston Farmers Market opening up in the recently renovated Park Circle Pavilion.
“I am so glad that their new space is ready because a lot of our vendors also do that market,” Bialas said. “We want all the markets to be successful because that means our vendors will be successful and they’ll keep doing what they’re doing.”
Like every other organizer City Paper chatted with, Bialas sang the praises of the farmers market’s vendors. “This isn’t a hobby for these people,” she said. “They need to make a living. And so we are so glad that North Charleston does Thursdays and we’ve got Edisto on Wednesdays and Mount Pleasant on Tuesdays; it is so nice to have some place for the vendors because they really are a family.”
- Sea Island Farmers Market
Every Saturday from 9:30 a.m.
to 1:30 p.m. 2024 Academy Road, Johns Island.
Vendors include: Counter Cheesemongers, Lowcountry Fungi, Vital Mission Farm and more.
Find the full list of vendors online at seaislandfarmersmarket.com.
Additional area markets
- The Mount Pleasant Farmers Market, 645 Coleman Blvd.,
Mount Pleasant. Tuesdays, 3:30-7 p.m. experiencemountpleasant.com - Summerville Farmers Market, Summerville Town Hall, 200 S. Main St., Summerville. Saturdays, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. summervilledream.org
- Goose Creek Farmers & Artisans Market, Goose Creek City Hall complex, 519 N. Goose Creek Blvd., Goose Creek. Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. facebook.com/gcfam2021
- Moncks Corner Farmers Market, Market Pavilion at the Regional Recreation Complex, 418 E. Main St., Moncks Corner. Thursdays, 3-6 p.m. monckscornersc.gov/farmers-market
- Folly Art Village, 41 Center St., Folly Beach. Wednesdays, 5-9 p.m.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.