The Patchogue Farmers Market will be back on Sundays starting June 8 through Oct. 12, and it promises to be better than ever, with many new vendors, a full schedule of live entertainment, pet …
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The Patchogue Farmers Market will be back on Sundays starting June 8 through Oct. 12, and it promises to be better than ever, with many new vendors, a full schedule of live entertainment, pet adoptions, and vendor product demonstrations.
The market will also have a new manager this year.
Abby Gruppuso, chief of operations for The Better Man Distilling Company, which is based in Patchogue, volunteered to oversee the market, including finding vendors and filling the special events schedule. The market is operated by the Village of Patchogue Business Improvement District.
“We’ll have lots of fun activities,” Gruppuso said in an interview with the Long Island Advance. “We’re trying to make it special and we’re still accepting applications from vendors until the end of April.”
Gruppuso is no stranger to farmers markets. She runs Better Man Distilling Company’s annual Christmas market.
“I just really love working with other small businesses,” Gruppuso said.
Last year, the Patchogue Farmers Market closed for the season in September, which is earlier than usual, after a produce vendor pulled out, citing low attendance and concerns about safety and vagrancy.
Gruppuso said she’ll be speaking with the village about posting a public safety officer at the market this year.
Gruppuso said she feels the farmers market can be improved on from last year.
She said her reaction when she visited the market last year was, “This doesn’t feel like Patchogue. I think we deserve something amazing.”
Gruppuso has already lined up 16 vendors who have committed to being at the market every Sunday. They include Bayport’s Sunflower Café; Urban Coyote Farm, which grows and sells microgreens; Rustic Roots Organic Home Delivery, a Ronkonkoma-based service that sells produce, meat, eggs and dairy products; and The Mighty Bean coffee truck.
Gruppuso also has commitments from an additional 13 vendors who will be at the market every other week, including The Big Cheese and Modern Pawz dog treats. Gruppuso has commitments from another 13 “pop-up” vendors who will be at the market on an occasional basis, with some coming once or twice and others coming as many as seven times. They include Stormy Garden Soapworks and Jack Bear Honey.
“People are starting to get excited about it,” Gruppuso said.
The market started about 10 years ago on Main Street and was moved to the Long Island Rail Road station parking lot after the first year.
David Kennedy, the executive director of the Village of Patchogue Business Improvement District, said he’s excited to see the changes Gruppuso made.
“Bringing in Abby was a great addition,” Kennedy said.
“Over time, it had started to lose a little lustre,” Kennedy said of the market.
Under Gruppuso’s direction, visitors to the market will see “a new and improved farmers market from what we’ve had the past several years,” he said.
Patchogue mayor Paul Pontieri said the farmers market is an important offering for village residents and visitors.
“It brings people into the village,” he said, while also letting residents know that Patchogue is “an important place.”
In addition to vendors, Gruppuso also promises a full slate of live entertainment, starting with a live performance by Nina Et cetera and a product demonstration by Stormy Garden Soapworks on June 8. Other performers include Jason Dorsa on Aug. 31 and Sarah Gross on Sept. 28.
The market will be in the same location as last year, in the parking lot of the Patchogue Long Island Rail Road station, in the corner of the lot at South Ocean Avenue and Division Street.
The market hours will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Businesses that want to sign up to be vendors can apply at this link: https://beacons.ai/patchoguefarmersmarket
Here is a list of vendors and entertainers as of March 26:
Full season
(every Sunday vendors)
Every other week vendors:
Pop Up Vendors
*Number in parentheses indicates how many dates they will attend
Entertainment
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