Farmers Market gets new name, Celina Record

Celina Farmers Market to get new name Lisa Ferguson, lferguson@starlocalmedia.com Jun 16, 2016 0 Following a brief summer hiatus, Celina Farmers Market Friday Nights on the Square will return with a new name. Beginning Sept. 16, the bimonthly event will be called Friday Night Market Celina’s Historic Square. The market in its current incarnation is scheduled from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. today on the downtown square. Another installment is scheduled July 1 before the break meant to help product vendors and shoppers avoid being outdoors during scorching summer temperatures. Michelle Baggett, who serves as market director for the Celina Ladies and Friends organization that produces the event, said the name change is intended to help clarify the types of goods sold there. “We’re giving people the wrong idea when we say ‘farmers market,’” she explained. “You hear farmers market and you think it’s just like the Dallas Farmers Market,” with numerous vendors selling fresh fruits and vegetables. When the Celina market was founded in 2014, Baggett said, “I think we envisioned us having a whole bunch of farmers.” However, each market typically features only a couple of farmers peddling produce including regulars Nelson and Sandy Carter of Cartermere Farms in Celina and J.R. Wesson of Wesson Farms in Colbert, Oklahoma. Many of the 20 or so booths are occupied by vendors who travel from up to 100 miles away to sell items including handmade home décor, soaps and lotions, jewelry, snacks and baked goods. The farmers markets, which also feature live music, tend to draw a couple hundred people to the square. Despite the name change, the event will continue to be a producer’s market, meaning all of the items sold must be grown or otherwise handmade by its vendors. Baggett said market organizers are seeking vendors to add to the lineup, which could help expand its footprint beyond the northern half of the square to the south toward Walnut Street.