Farmers Market preparing for final month

Bennett Horne/The Weekly Vista These whimsical, handcrafted birdhouses were on sale Sunday at the Knitting by Brenda booth at the Farmers Market.
Bennett Horne/The Weekly Vista These whimsical, handcrafted birdhouses were on sale Sunday at the Knitting by Brenda booth at the Farmers Market.

A successful 2022 season is winding down for the Bella Vista Farmers Market, with only five more Sundays remaining for shoppers to see the variety of products offered by the vendors who sell their wares each week at Village Center on Lancashire Boulevard.

The final day for the Farmers Market is Sunday, Oct. 30, and Farmers Market Coordinator Samantha Mosher said plans are for the market to close its 2022 run with a bang.

"We love to end around Halloween because we're all very festive and we love to see the kids in their costumes and get the families to come out," she said. "We'll have one big trick or treat for the kids. We love to see their costumes and have them come out. We'll probably have some live music that day as well and lots of kid friendly activities so we can get the families out. We do a little 'booth or treat' so every time the kids go to a booth they can get a little treat. We try to have face painters and things like that, to make it a really good time for the families. But that will be our last one for the season until next March or April."

Mosher said even though attendance has slowed somewhat since the start of the school year, this season has been a successful one for the Farmers Market with a consistent -- and large -- group of vendors selling a variety of products.

"It's been slow the last few weeks, but we normally attribute that to the kids getting back into school and families getting back into that routine of school life," she said. "But, other than that, we've had a really spectacular summer. We're on par with our sales to where we were when we left Allen's, so we're doing really well. I'm very pleased."

She added, "We did lose one vendor, but it was for medical issues."

That, she said, is a "huge change of pace from past years when we would usually lose a quarter and maybe gain 10% of that back, but this year we've hardly lost anybody and we've gained quite a few. So it's been great."

Mosher attributes part of this season's success to the fact many of the vendors are part of other markets and have helped spread the word about Bella Vista's market while set up at the other markets.

"Word of mouth has been big for us because we're one of the smaller ones here in northwest Arkansas," she said. "But word is getting out. Some of the vendors we share with the Bentonville market and their Thursday market, and they're encouraging sales out here on Sundays and that's been really helpful."

Setting up as a "Sunday only" market has helped spur the market's success, giving shoppers an option that complements the Saturday markets and the vendors another day to sell their products.

"We've always done that the six or seven years we've been open and we've never regretted it," Mosher said. "We've thrived on Sundays. Bella Vista has shown up on Sundays and been very supportive. That was probably one of the best decisions we've made."

Mosher, who took over as coordinator a year after the market opened in 2016, said shoppers who attend Sunday morning church services work their visits to the market around their worship times.

"We've always done Sundays," she said. "When I came I altered the times a bit, making it earlier in the day, but that was causing some issues with morning churches so that's kind of why we picked the 9 a.m.-2 p.m. slot and it's been great."

She continued, "We get a pretty good group of people that maybe go to later services, like the 10 o'clock or 11 o'clock services, and they'll stop in before they go to church, and then we get a really good crowd when the classic church services get out. People will come here on their way to brunch or grandma's for dinner, wherever they eat on Sundays."

Now that fall has arrived, many of the vendors have transitioned their products to go with the new season.

"A lot of our vendors kind of evolve their products as the seasons go on," Mosher said. "Right now you're going to get all your really good fall harvest vegetables -- squashes, pumpkins, potatoes, things that are really good in soups and in crock pots -- and our candle vendors will have their fall candles out. And we've got one that now has fall-flavored jams and jellies, relishes and salsas."

And a new vendor has arrived with products that could enhance those jams and jellies.

"We have a new vendor that just started this week and they're selling several different varieties of sourdough bread," Mosher said. "They just started this week and are going to finish out the market with us."

And even though the market is gearing up to a day-before-Halloween finish, Mosher said it's never too late to start thinking about gifts to fill out shopping lists for another upcoming holiday.

"Nobody wants to hear this, but now is a good time to start your Christmas shopping," she said, "and our vendors have a lot of great Christmas gift items here. Now is a good time to come out."

For those who can't make it to the market, or don't have their Christmas lists ready to fill just yet, Mosher reminds everyone that most of the vendors now make their merchandise available for online shopping.

"A lot of our vendors do have cards and do online shopping and make customized items, so even if you want to just come out and look around and see what we've got you can always order off of our vendors' websites offseason," she said. "That's always a plus."

  photo  Bennett Horne/The Weekly Vista Colorful, fresh vegetables are still being sold at the Bella Vista Farmers Market. These vegetables were being sold by Yang Vegetables 2, which is located in Lincoln. The last day for the Farmers Market is Sunday, Oct. 30.