Local neighbors ready to launch weekly farmers market at Port Neches Riverfront Park
Published 12:30 am Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
PORT NECHES — Two Port Neches women are working to bring the community together with a farmers market.
Lori Carl and Christine Murphy are the organizers behind Riverfront Farmers Market, which recently got the green light from the city to use the park for the event.
Carl said her daughter suggested last spring she should do something like this. So Carl took the idea to social media and asked if anyone would be interested — she received a huge response.
Her neighbor, Murphy, expressed interest and soon the women were busy outlining the project.
It was Murphy who has done a bulk of the work for the farmers market, Carl said.
“She has taken it on and I’m riding on to her coattail. She’s young, she is just a visionary,” Carl said. “She sees it, and honestly our emphasis for the market is to build the community. We love this area and want to find out who are neighbors are, who grows stuff, who’s raising chickens, etc.”
Creating a place of unity and getting to know one another is the main idea, she added.
While there is a farmers market in Beaumont, she feels there needs to be something closer to home so people have another option other than driving for 30 minutes or so.
Riverfront Farmers Market will be held every other weekend, starting Oct. 15 and ending Nov. 26, then, hopefully, reopening again some time in February. The event will be held on the road in front of the pavilion at Port Neches Riverfront Park.
Organizers are undecided on the start and end times for the market and are tossing around ideas such as 8 a.m. to either 11 a.m. or noon or 9 a.m. to noon or 1 p.m.
“We are trying to create an atmosphere that’s not stressful for anybody,” Carl said. “And for vendors, we don’t want them to feel they have to be up at the crack of dawn.”
Participating vendors would consist of agricultural produce, value added items such as jellies and jams, artisan and nursery/plant products.
There will be fees for vendors to participate, as well as other stipulations.
Carl said they have a goal to become a nonprofit in the future.
Crystal Jordan, the incoming executive director of the Port Neches Chamber of Commerce, said they are very excited for this opportunity for the community.
For more information, search “Riverfront Farmers Market” on Facebook.