Troy Farmers Market To Launch Wednesday Event (WAMC)

This news story first aired on WAMC on Sept. 2, 2019.

By JIM LEVULIS • SEP 2, 2019

The Troy Waterfront Farmers Market is expanding beyond its popular Saturday event to offer a mid-week option. 

Up to 20 vendors will set up on Wednesdays, starting September 4, on the sidewalk of Broadway next to the Troy Atrium, a space Market President Zack Metzger says hasn’t been utilized.

“It’s going to run for lunchtime through dinnertime – 11:30 [a.m.] to 7 p.m.,” Metzger said. “But we’re going to break it up into two spots. We’ve got a number of vendors that will there the whole time, but we’re going to have some that will just stay from 11:30 to 2 and hit that lunchtime crowd and we’ve got some that are going to come from 4 to 7 and just hit the evening-time crowd.”

The Wednesday market is expected to run through the winter holiday season, with the option to move inside the Atrium during bad weather.

“We’ve discussed it with a number of the downtown merchants because we want to make sure this is compatible with what’s already there and the Farmer’s Market has no intention to take business away from folks that have been there a long time,” said Metzger.

Now in its 20th season, the market boasts more than 100 vendors and an estimated 10,000 weekend visitors outside in downtown Troy from May through October. It moves inside the Atrium from November through April. Metzger says talks to establish an indoor market year-round to complement the outdoor Saturday event are ongoing.

“We’re still hammering out the details and it looks really positive,” Metzger said. “I still think it’s going to happen. Probably next spring at the earliest, we’re looking at an opening for that.”