The air was crisp, the sky blue and the crowd busy shopping at the Market Square Winter Market on Saturday. Shoppers browsed at booths offering goods ranging from meat and eggs to jewelry and handmade brooms.
This is the first year the Winter Market has been situated on Market Square — and the first year it’s been held weekly. It started indoors and biweekly and moved outside to Mary Costa Plaza when COVID-19 required extra precautions. Now it’s occupies Market Square, where the Farmers Market is held May through November.
Charlotte Tolley, the executive director of Nourish Knoxville, which organizes the markets, says shoppers can expect 40 to 50 vendors each Saturday. (An interactive vendor map can be found here.) While some vendors offer handmade crafts, don’t rule out the food producers, even in the coldest months.
“There is a large variety of farm products, although the produce is limited in quantity, and fresh produce sells out quickly,” she says. “Our farmers bring fresh produce that include mushrooms, microgreens, sprouts, leafy greens, hydroponic lettuce and root vegetables; storage crops like sweet potatoes, winter squash and garlic; honey, eggs, cheese, milk, dried and cut flowers, plants, meat, and even maple syrup.”
There is also a wide variety of prepared foods, including baked goods, spices, kombucha, pasta, granola, and locally-roasted coffee.
Be sure to pop in and support our local makers and growers. The Winter Markets will continue through March, and the Market Square Farmers Market opens May 4.