No slowing down for Charlottetown Farmers Market

The Charlottetown Farmers Market ended another solid year on a good note, and things look promising for 2017.

Even though Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve fell on Saturdays, market manager Bernie Plourde said the market continued to be busy as people stuck to their regular routine.

"We were well-received," Plourde said. "2016 was a good year."

The market is open on Saturdays and for the past seven years Wednesdays as well from June through Thanksgiving.

Plourde said 2,000 to 3,000 people usually visit the market on Saturdays, and Wednesdays are catching up.

"We don't track our vendors' sales, they keep that to themselves, but just by asking anecdotally how are your sales today and people reporting back, 'I sold just as much as I did on Saturday.'"

Lynne Douglas, owner of Sheep's Clothing, has seen the market grow "amazingly" in the 30 years she's been a vendor.

"At this time of year there would be essentially nobody in here. You could have had a bowling game down the aisles," she said on Saturday. "But now, even in the times of year when there's not a huge amount of business, everybody comes."

Tyler Gallant, owner of Gallant's Shellfish and Seafood, has been at the market for a little over a year. He said he sells to 300 to 400 people each Saturday.

"We're really happy with how many people come in here. We really couldn't fit anymore people in the building I don't think," he said.

"I think people want to eat local food. They also want things that are fresh and kind of grown on their own soil or found around in our own waters. I think that's the promise of the building, really."

With 2016 in the books, Plourde said there are plans underway for improvements in 2017. For example, they plan to make the building more sustainable by switching to LED lights and adding solar panels. They also plan to build a cover so, by next winter, vendors can set up outside.

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