When the Waunakee Farmers Market opens the 2024 season, the vendors will be in a new space and it will be open to additional groups.
Along with produce, the new Waunakee Farmers and Makers Market will include hand crafted items, and vendors will set up around the Waunakee Depot in the heart of the village’s historic business district. The new location offers an opportunity to ensure the newly improved park serves its purpose as a central public gathering spot for the Waunakee community.
“With the patio, a nice deck that’s accessible for people, the parking lot — Main Street itself has drastically improved over the years with a lot of new businesses and things — the village and the police really supported us moving it here,” said Ellen Schaaf, Waunakee Chamber of Commerce director.
The upgrades were intended to allow Reeve Park, the area around the depot, to be used as more of a public space. For that purpose, the revitalization project received a $50,000 Vibrant Spaces grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC).
Upgrades included expanding the area around the depot, where the Chamber of Commerce’s office is located, to better host a variety of community events, encourage more visitors to the downtown, and foster economic development. The sidewalks have been widened from the parking lot to the depot, as well.
The Waunakee Farmers Market will kick off May 8 this year, and will run from 3-6 p.m. every Wednesday for 24 weeks until the Boo Bash around Halloween takes place at Reeve Park and the depot. And, for the first time, it will feature crafts and art work, in addition to produce, flowers, canned food, baked goods, and meats and fish.
As the Create Waunakee initiative has grown, along with the number makers and artisans in the community, the Chamber hoped to offer greater support to that economic sector, Schaaf said.
The market will also be open to representatives from Waunakee High School clubs, along with booster clubs hosting fundraisers and nonprofits.
“It’s a good place if they want to set up a tent. They have a good spot and support to do that,” Schaaf added.
The new arrangement also encourages entrepreneurs, offering them a place to sell their goods.
Angela Docherty, the Chamber’s marketing and membership coordinator, said a seventh-grade girl had stopped in at the Chamber office with her father looking for a way to sell her handmade soap.
“We mentioned a great opportunity coming up in May,” Docherty said, adding the soapmaker’s mother contacted Docherty a few weeks later and said the girl’s entrepreneurial spirit had been awakened. She had started her own limited liability corporation, or LLC.
“This is why we are doing what we’re doing. She will be selling and will be at the maker’s market,” Docherty said
The market will also have sponsors. The first, TDS, will bring a live band to play.
From a traffic flow perspective, Waunakee Police are supportive of the move from the Waun-A-Bowl parking lot, Schaaf said. Letters have also been sent to owners of the surrounding businesses, who have expressed support for the change, Schaaf added.
Vendors will set up around the parking lot, and shoppers can park on the street or in Saint John’s parking lot across the street from the depot parking lot.
“It’s going to be different, and we realize that,” Schaaf said. “We’re going to work hard to make sure we have adequate signage for the day, and every week, from the Main arteries.”
But, the Chamber staff pointed out that the site is more accessible to neighbors, such as Cannery Row residents.
“This is why we are here,” Docherty said, referring to the central business district. She noted that the changes will be an enhancement for the participating vendors.
Schaaf called the farmers market the Chamber’s community give-back. The village had asked for the new location, and the board of directors approved the request.
“It’s been a lot of staff time to get prepared for the changes, but we’re committed to making sure it’s done well and that it’s successful,” Schaaf said.
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