Market returns

CHENEY – The weather hasn’t really been cooperating lately, but that didn’t stop the opening of the fifth season of the Cheney Farmers’ Market last Friday.

Pathways to Progress, a nonprofit organization that is working to revitalize downtown Cheney, presents the market every Friday from June through October. Pathways members noticed that summertime is extremely slow for businesses in Cheney once the students from Eastern Washington University go home.

“We wanted to change that,” said Spencer Grainger of Pathways.

He said that every year the market is in Cheney it gets bigger, and has also been Pathways’ most successful promotion of downtown.

The market, which is part of the Washington State Farmers’ Market Association, boasts locally grown produce and handmade crafts. Grainger said they chose Friday as market day since that is the day the “world’s best sausage cart” comes to town. Sausage vendor John Agosta has a very strong following, Grainger said.

Last Friday around noon, the line for hot dogs and sausages was pretty long, despite the cold, blustery weather.

The weather was also a factor in what the vendors had for sale. Since summer is getting off to a slow start, there isn’t much in the way of produce just yet.

“Everything is about a month behind,” said Kristen Silva of Entropy Farms in Cheney. She said she is currently selling greens, but soon will be offering peas, beets and turnips.

“I think this is really good for the community,” Silva said.

The market is on College Street between First and Second streets. Bricks pave the way under leafy trees, and there are tables and chairs set up so visitors can have a seat while they enjoy their sausages.

There are restaurants near the market as well, with the Pita Pit at the end of the block and El Rodeo, a Mexican restaurant that recently opened its patio. Restaurants along First Street also benefit from the market since everything is within walking distance.

Mayor Allan Gainer officially welcomed the crowd to the market last week and later talked about his hopes for what the city can do for the market. He’d like to see the curbs taken out and pavers installed to slope the sidewalks into the street, a cover to keep the sun off the vendors and their wares, and he’d like to see the market grow all the way along College Street.

For now, however, Pathways is working on improving the market with a mural to highlight Cheney’s agricultural past, present and future. The organization has held an auction to raise funds for the mural which will be painted by Tom Quinn, but Grainger said they are still $5,000 short of the amount needed.

This year, Grainger said that they are going to have special events once a month to keep people coming back to the market.

He hopes to have live music at these events which include family fun day, kids’ art day, the dog days of summer which will feature a dog parade and a contest to see who looks the most like their dog, back to school day, senior day and the autumn bash during the last two weeks of the market.

New this year is the vendor advisory committee which will pool its resources and make decisions for the market. Grainger hopes that one day the vendors will take over the market, but acknowledges that Pathways will always be a part of the market.

At last Friday’s market, the first 25 visitors received a free “Get Fresh on Friday” bag to haul their purchases home, there was live music from Todd Milne, a bamboo flute player, and a prize basket was raffled off. There was also the live auction of art from the Downtown Cheney Art Walk, an event to raise money for the mural in the market.

Vendors can reserve their place at the market for just $10 a day. Customers can find anything from honey that is processed in Cheney to breads, flowers, produce, crafts and more. Most vendors accept cash and checks, and Grainger said that the vendors will also accept checks from Women, Infants and Children.

Many of the vendors at the market said they keep coming back because of the atmosphere and the sense of family they get from the other vendors.

Jennifer Grimes has been selling clay medallions to use as pendants at the market for the last three years.

“It’s small and pretty intimate,” she said. “A lot of the same people come back.”