weekly markets take off across the Seacoast

Demand for local meats, herbs, produce and other foods has ballooned in recent years, and area farmers are answering the call with weekly markets around the Seacoast. The Portsmouth Farmers’ Market, held in the City Hall parking lot every Saturday morning, opened the first weekend of May and has enjoyed early success. This year, that market will get a little competition from a new Saturday morning event in Newmarket.

Meanwhile, The Seacoast Growers’ Association’s five weekday afternoon markets are taking off across the region.
Exeter opened its Thursday afternoon market two weeks early this year, starting on May 21 with a record 32 vendors in Swasey Parkway.

New vendors have been added at the Durham Farmers’ Market, held every Monday afternoon in the Durham Bike parking lot on Pettee Brook Lane. Starting June 1, this year’s market will see the addition of Nottingham Orchards, offering a variety of fruits and cider. Other returning vendors will add more fruits, vegetables, baked goods, spices, plants and other products. 

The Hampton Farmers’ Market returns on Tuesdays starting June 2 in the Sacred Heart Church parking lot on Lafayette Road. New vendors this year include Divine Cuisines, George Beland Furniture, Jewell Towne Vineyards, New Roots Farm, Outlaw Farm and Ramsbotham’s Riverview Farm.

Also held on Tuesday afternoons beginning June 2, the Kingston Farmers’ Market takes place across from the fire station on Main Street (Route 111). The market’s three new vendors this year are Catnip Acres Herb Farm, Marcotte Farm and Sugarmomma’s Maple Farm.

The Dover Farmers’ Market shifts to a new location this year at the Herbal Path parking lot on Central Avenue starting on Wednesday, June 3.

Both Rye and Newmarket will launch their own independent farmers’ markets this year. Newmarket’s begins on Saturday, June 20, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., outside The Stone Church on Granite Street. Unlike the aforementioned markets, this weekly event is not affiliated with the Seacoast Growers’ Association. According to organizer Jill Leavenworth, the market represents a collaboration between the Lamprey Arts & Culture Alliance, the Newmarket Business Association and town government.  

The number of vendors in Newmarket will vary from week to week, but Leavenworth said she typically expects around six. While the Saturday morning schedule could mean losing some customers to Portsmouth, Leavenworth said it is the most practical time for a community-wide market. “We really need this to be the kind of thing where families can come out on a Saturday,” she said.

Like in Portsmouth, the Newmarket Farmers’ Market will feature live music, with bands performing outside The Stone Church and by the waterfront. There will also be stands for artists, non-profit organizations and educational groups.

Most of the vendors will come from Newmarket or Lee, offering produce, meat, cheese, herbs, yogurt, eggs, flowers, bread and other baked goods. Leavenworth, who has a small farm at her Madbury home, might sell eggs at the market. For more information, contact newmarketfarmers.market@gmail.

The new Rye market takes place at Rye Town Hall on Washington Road every Wednesday from 2 to 5:30 p.m., beginning June 24. Visit www.town.rye.nh.us for details.

The Seacoast Growers’ Association formed in 1977 and is now a registered non-profit organization representing close to 60 local independent businesses. They have an agricultural focus, but the markets also offer seafood, jams, cookie dough, honey mead and blended teas. The markets also feature artisans who carry everything from woven reed baskets, pottery and leather work to goat milk soap, herbal medicine, jewelry and Chinese brush paintings. For more information, visit www.seacoastgrowers.org.

For a roundup of other area farmers’ markets, see the food calendar to the left.