The Main Street Portsmouth Farmers Market Sponsored by the Scioto County Commissioners is set to open May 20. The market is one of the most popular stops for local produce and cottage industry goods such as soaps, candles, crafts, and more.

The event is continuing its tradition of hosting on the Roy Rogers Esplanade and will welcome over a dozen vendors to the site, only with room to grow was things start to bloom and products come into season.

According to the group, the average market witnesses around 15 to 22 vendors once things warm up.

The market is supported by the Scioto County Commissioners, which has been an ongoing partnership for several years. The partnership allows the group to properly manage the event with cottage industry rules, host a plethora of events, provide a marketing budget, and more.

The event has regular attendees and new faces each week, but, according to the group, many of the guests and vendors end up feeling like a family as they meet every week over locally produced goods.

Main Street’s newest Executive Director, Emily Uldrich, is excited to be joining that family, especially since this is the first event hosted in her new job.

“I’m really excited, because I know this has been a staple of Main Street’s programming for a long time now and I am happy to give opportunities to feature our local agriculture and local craftspeople and cottage industry producers,” Uldrich explained. “This is just a fantastic event.”

The new director commented on the event saying that she believes it is one of the most important and she is passionate about carrying its legacy on.

“I think it is important, because it is difficult for people in the agriculture industry to be able to compete with national and international retail outlets,” Uldrich claimed. “It is nice to have an event like the farmers market, where the producers are the sellers. It is nice to cut out the middleman and for shoppers in the region to be able to access the very best that our region has to offer.”

The market will run every Saturday on the Roy Rogers Esplanade, 9-noon, from May 20 to October 7.

Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2022 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved