When temperatures drop, the Memorial Centre Farmers’ Market moves indoors to its cold-weather home, the Bennett Barn at the Kingston Memorial Centre.
Most Sundays until May, from 9 am to 1 pm, you can sip hot cider, listen to live music, and buy tasty food directly from local farmers and producers.
Kingston is fortunate: not many cities have a year-round farmers’ market,” notes Emma Barken, market operations manager. “It’s open rain, snow or shine, and the market is a source of pride, sustained by our community.
Exploring the best food the area has to offer is a palate-pleasing way to spend a wintry Sunday morning. Everything sold is truly local – grown, raised, or made within 100 kilometres (62 miles) of Kingston – a fact that never fails to impress visiting gastronomes.
“Our mandate is to provide a space for farmers to connect with customers,” Emma says. The market was launched in 2012 by local farmers and the Williamsville Community Association to improve local food access and enliven the Memorial Centre grounds.
Even on the coldest, darkest day, the farmers’ market is a cheerful place to be.
You can pick up Christmas and hostess gifts and wreaths, buy fresh food, eat a hot brunch, head next door for skating inside the Memorial Centre arena, or linger by the fire for a chat. “We usually have a warm fire pit just outside the barn before Christmas, with complimentary cookies and cider,” Emma says. “This year we're going to expand that through all the winter months to provide another cozy spot for people to meet and visit.”
Whether you’re seeking ingredients for your feast or unique presents, much of what you need for the holidays can be found at the winter market. Bee-Youtiful Beads upcycles old jewelry into new jewelry and ornaments. ChocChique specializes in bean-to-bar chocolate, with rich chocolate bars made from hand-roasted and ground cocoa beans. Generations Apiary offers beeswax candles in addition to a variety of honeys.
Meat-eaters, planning hearty meals over the winter, gravitate to Parson’s Family Farm, which offers pasture-raised chicken and turkey, and Haanover View Farms, which raises heritage pork, grass-fed beef, and chicken. Or they head to the Reinink Family Farm booth for fresh eggs.
Veggie-lovers, even in December, can find a taste of summer here. “Our vendors have greenhouses in protected spaces and offer fresh greens right up until Christmas,” says Emma. There are also plenty of root vegetables, available all winter: squash, potatoes, carrots, and onions.
And apples. “We have Hall’s Apple Market from Brockville throughout the winter, so there's always fresh fruit,” says Emma. This third-generation family-owned apple farm, established in 1947, also sells apple cider, apple butter, and pies.
Each Sunday, fragrant fresh breads fly off the tables. “Three bakers will come all winter. Crusty Baker is super popular: he sells out, and has an array of whole wheat, rye and oat breads, everything from baguette to sourdough to cookies, using grain from Ironwood Organics in Gananoque.” Newer to the market are two bakers: Bon Bagel, with wood-fired Montreal style bagels, and House of Bread, with sourdough products: loaves, cinnamon buns, and dinner rolls.
Specialty flour from Fat Chance Farmstead in Harrowsmith also has an enthusiastic following. “The farmer grows rye and Red Fife wheat and then mills it on his farm into various flours.”
As well as the staples, you can also find items you won’t find in the supermarket, like daikon radish and fresh mushrooms. “The freshness and the types of mushrooms are amazing,” Emma says. “Mark’s Mushrooms has shiitakes and oyster mushrooms grown that same week.” Their dried mushrooms, tinctures, and at-home growing kits also make good gifts.
Kingston’s Lovebugs Farm adds protein-packed ground crickets to its cookies, muffins, carrot cake power bites, and breakfast bars. Through its products, Lovebugs promotes insect consumption as an eco-conscious choice.
And for foodies who have no intention of cooking, the market’s international smorgasbord of hot foods entice: steamed buns with butternut squash dough from Long Road Eco Farm; okonomiyaki, a Japanese vegetable pancake from Main Street Urban Farm; and home-made Indian food such as samosas, butter chicken, and mango lassi from 1000 Curry. Taking prepared food home is another possibility: vendors such as Cravin’ sell frozen soups, baked goods, and food boxes stocked with seasonal home-made meals.
Over the past 15 years, the winter market has become a much-loved space where farmers and local food-lovers connect. “Though it’s cold and dreary outside, people know they have an inviting place to go,” says Emma. “When the snow flies, we gather weekly to share food, hot coffee, listen to live music, and meet with friends and neighbours.”
For weekly updates on vendors and what’s happening on the market, sign up for the Memorial Centre Farmers’ Market newsletter that goes out every Friday.
