The Downtown Improvement Board event has been drawing visitors to the downtown district for nearly 12 years, and is consistently voted Best Outdoor Market, Best Place to Buy Local Produce and Best Free Thing to Do in local reader polls. The free event happens every Saturday from 9am-2pm, rain or shine.

WANT TO GO?

Palafox Market

April Dates: Saturdays, Apr. 6, 13, 20 & 27

Time: 9am-2pm

Location: Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza

Downtown Pensacola

Cost: FREE

Parking: CLICK for DIB Parking Map

The Downtown Improvement Board event has been drawing visitors to the downtown district for the past 12 years, and is consistently voted Best Outdoor Market, Best Place to Buy Local Produce and Best Free Thing to Do in local reader polls. The free farmers market occurs every Saturday from 9am-2pm, rain or shine, with the exception of once each a year during the Grand Mardi Gras Parade weekend.

March Dates: Saturdays, Mar. 9, 16, 23, 30

Time: 9am-2pm

Location: Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza, Downtown Pensacola

Cost: FREE

Parking: CLICK for DIB Parking Map

Fresh produce, live plants, baked goods, fine art, and antiques are just a few of the items offered by vendors at Palafox Market in Downtown Pensacola. Items originate directly from onsite vendors who grow, make, or create the fruits, vegetables, herbs, and art for sale.

The Matt Carter Family has been named the 2013 Escambia County Outstanding Farm Family.

Matt has been married for eight years to Dawn, and they have two girls — six-year old Emily and almost-two Jayden.  They work together on their farm on Byrneville Road to being the freshest, highest quality vegetables direct to local consumers at their Matt’s Produce stand and weekly at the Palafox Market in Pensacola.

Matt grew up working alongside his father, Lance Carter at Crary Dairy. As a youth, he was a member of the Northview FFA chapter and was chapter president. He is still very active in supporting agriculture as a member of the EscaRosa Young Farmers and Ranchers.

For a number of years, he worked off the farm at the West Frazier Sawmill. But when it closed in 2008, he saw the opportunity to open his own farming operation. He saw the interest for local produce steadily increasing and knew that he wanted to be a part helping to supply homegrown vegetables to Escambia County resident. His business started small with tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and zucchini which he sold at the farmstand on Byrneville Road, but quickly joined the Palafox Market to sell his  product.

Over the past five years, the Carters have expanded their operation both in acreage and product variety. Throughout the year, Matt and Dawn produce peppers, tomatoes, squash, potatoes, onions, zucchini, turnips, mustards, collards, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, and butter beans. Future plans included a certified kitchen at the product stand  so they can sell value added items straight to the consumer.

It’s especially exciting because the start of May will bring us the opening day of the Palafox Market’s sixth season!  The May 2013 – April 2014 market season will kick off Saturday, May 4^th, 8am – 2pm, rain or shine in Historic Downtown Pensacola!

The Palafox Market is Downtown Pensacola’s very own farmers market!  Farmers markets have been in existence for many years, but the last 10+ years have seen an unprecedented nationwide growth.  According to the USDA, the number of farmers markets has grown almost 200%, from 2,863 markets in 2000 to 7,864 in 2012.  As farmers markets continue to be fresh food mainstays, these numbers continue to rise.  Farmers markets provide access for shoppers across all socio-economic, political, and ethnic ranges.  In addition, farmers markets are playing a pivotal role in the “Shop Local” movement.  Farmers markets positively impact local economies, improve community health, and bring diverse groups of people together through a shared social space.  The Palafox Market is excited to be a part of this growing trend and all the positive benefits it brings to Downtown Pensacola and the surrounding community.

The Palafox Market was started in 2008, as a joint venture between the DIB and CRA, in order to increase additional economic development in our Downtown area.  Over the last five seasons, the market has expanded to become a year round event and a Saturday staple in Downtown Pensacola.  On any given Saturday, the Palafox Market, which is now located in all three medians of the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, hosts over 85 vendors and thousands of customers!

Palafox Market customers come from all over the region, to shop for fresh local seasonal produce, meats, and plants.  Shoppers also love the delicious homemade foods, jams, sauces, and honey available at the market.  The local shopping continues with the Art and Antique sections of the market!  A Saturday shopping trip will reveal the award winning fine art, pottery, jewelry, an amazing variety of soaps and candles, custom textiles, unique antiques, and more!  The Palafox Market is also considered a “must see and shop” destination for tourists visiting the Pensacola area.  You might even see the chef, from your favorite restaurant, buying the ingredients to use in their next culinary masterpiece.

The dedicated vendors, of the Palafox Market, offer items that are grown or made within 100 miles of Downtown Pensacola.  Have a question about a product?  The vendors of Palafox Market can answer it for you!

Do you want to know:

When will my favorite produce will be available?

How do I keep this plant alive?

What are the benefits of local honey?

How did you create this amazing painting?

What’s your best soap for sensitive skin?

Can you make some custom jewelry for my loved one?

Palafox Markets’ knowledgeable and accommodating vendors will have the answers to these and many more of your questions.  Vendors vary weekly, so it’s always a great new experience shopping at the Palafox Market!

As we look forward to another successful season, we invite you to come see for yourself why the Palafox Market finished in the top 10, in the country, and was voted #2, in Florida, in last year’s “America’s Favorite Farmers Market” competition! The Palafox Market is every Saturday, 8am-2pm, rain or shine.  The market is located, amongst the beautiful shade trees, in Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza on North Palafox Street between Garden and Wright Streets.  For more information, including products available and how to become a vendor, or to sign up for the weekly newsletter, visit the website at www.PALAFOXMARKET.com

Local vendors line the street at downtown Pensacola’s Palafox Market every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. offering a festival- like shopping opportunity featuring a variety of art, antiques, fresh produce and natural products.

Currently in its fifth season and rapidly growing, the Palafox Market includes over 70 unique vendors who are local to Pensacola and surrounding areas. The market has been a growing success since its establishment in 2008 and will now run year round.

Although the market is fit for all generations, many advocates are young adults who are passionate about supporting local merchants.

“Farmer’s markets and shopping local is such a huge thing for the younger generations,” market manager Hilary Gilles said.

Word is spreading, and many young attendees are enthusiastic about supporting their community.

“Be vocal and shop local,” UWF alumna Ashlee Simpson, 27, said. “I love the idea of supporting and empowering my community. It’s a great feeling to contribute to the improvement of Pensacola.”

The fresh produce, baked goods, coffee beans, kettle corn, jams, pies and honey just skim the surface of the tasty spread. Along with specialty foods, an abundance of art, jewelry, antiques and clothing decorated the booths from top to bottom.

Fresh veggies anyone?
“The eclectic items at the market are what keep me coming back,” FSU alumna Sierra Eades, 27 said. “The jewelry is one of a kind. The artists are so talented, and you can’t find things they offer commercially.”

The market focuses on the authenticity and locality of the products they offer. All vendors must be from within a 100 mile radius of Pensacola.

“We have so many different products and so many different vendors that all the rules and regulations have to be covered,” Gilles said. “Everything has to be made or grown locally by that vendor so there’s no reselling.”

Kittrell’s Daydream Apiary (bee yard) is a long time vendor at the market and offers raw honey and raw honey products including handmade milk and honey soap, beeswax candles, and pollen. Cheryl Kittrell, bee yard farmer, is passionate about their product and the health benefits consumers can receive from this natural replacement for sugar.

Like many of the other vendors, Kittrell’s embraces the local opportunity to share their product with the community and wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We don’t aspire to the commercialism,” Kittrell said. “We fit perfectly with the cottage industry and the feeling of the market. It’s a very organic kind of thing.”

Although Kittrell’s isn’t looking for mass production, other vendors have seen their business grow through the Palafox Market’s exposure.

“We have all sorts of vendors, from the well- established farmer, who that’s their life and their business, to the backyard farmer who’s really into gardening and has excess produce,” Gilles said.

The Palafox Market showcases these hobbyists and businesses for exactly what they are, local and authentic. Due to the market’s popularity, some vendors, like those selling produce, often sell out early. Although some products have become a hot commodity, there is no rush if you’re not an early riser. There’s plenty going on until the market’s close in the early afternoon.

The market is located in the Martin Luther King Plaza on North Palafox Street between Wright Street and Chase Street every Saturday, except Feb. 9, rain or shine.

Elizabeth Egstad
Staff Writer

Original URL: http://www.thevoyager.net/2013/01/keeping-it-local-with-the-palafox-market/

Food vendors sell an array of homemade cakes, breads, pies, jams, candies, salsas, and sauces and the market’s local meat and produce will be a fabulous addition to any holiday meal. The fresh cut flowers, plants, and aromatic potpourri will help you put the finishing touches on your holiday décor.