Poplar Head Farmers Market will bring art, agriculture to downtown

Do you have a desire to eat as well as serve fresh fruits and vegetables? At the same time, would you like to help the local economy?

Toss in some fun-filled activities, demonstrations and entertainment, and you have the ingredients for a fun-filled Saturday morning. Actually, you have the necessary ingredients for the Poplar Head Farmers Market, a new event sponsored by The Downtown Group that will be held every Saturday in June and July (including the Fourth).

The open-air market, which will open at 8 a.m. and close at noon, will feature fresh fruits and vegetables grown locally. The produce will be so fresh that it is likely to have been picked within 24 hours of its arrival at the market.

The seed for the market came from Julie Bishop, who serves as market director. The very popular Pepper Place Market in Birmingham was her inspiration. Bishop, not content to let the idea die on the vine, made her wishes known to Dothan Mayor Pat Thomas.

“It all began with a conversation I had with Mayor Thomas last April,” Ms. Bishop said. “I told him that we needed a place like Pepper Place Market in Birmingham for Dothan. He agreed and told me to go for it.”

Bishop studied the Pepper Place Market concept and felt it would work in Dothan.

“Pepper Place is now nine years old,” Ms. Bishop said. “They have renovated an area of downtown Birmingham. They actually started on a loading dock that was part of the Dr. Pepper Plant. It is held from May through September, and it is packed full of farmers and artisans in the street.

“They have included demonstrations by a chef, and they have music on two stages.

“Pepper Place Market is serving as our model.”

Poplar Head Farmers Market will have some added dimensions that will distinguish it from its Birmingham model.

“This market will have an educational component,” Ms. Bishop said. “Paula Hennig (market manager) and I are educators by trade. We wanted to incorporate education into the market.”
Part of that education comes through healthful eating tips.

“The market will encourage you to buy and eat nutritious, locally-grown food,” Ms. Bishop added. “You will also support our local farmers and continue the tradition we have of farming as a big industry.”

Another part of the educational component will be provided by the Wiregrass Museum of Art and the Houston-Love Memorial Library.

The Women’s Committee of the Houston County Farmers Federation recently bought 25 new farm-related library books. Those books will make their debut at the Poplar Head Farmers Market before becoming a part of the permanent collection in the Children’s Library at the Houston-Love Memorial Library. Kristin North, Children’s librarian, will read the books to the children during the market activities.

“We’re excited to partner with the Wiregrass Museum of Art and the Houston-Love Memorial Library to bring art to the market,” Ms. Bishop said. “We want children to come and be a part of the activities. We want them, and their parents, to learn about art and how it relates to farming.”

Area artisans will also be on hand to demonstrate their skills and to sell some of their works that relate to farming.

“The Poplar Head Farmers Market is a wonderful collaboration,” said Cathy Cole, executive director of The Downtown Group. “We’re promoting not just the city of Dothan but the surrounding communities as well. We want to encourage the public to buy top-notch, locally-grown fruits and vegetables.”

The Poplar Head Farmers Market is approved by the city of Dothan and the State Farmers Market Authority. Nutrition Program vouchers issued by the state of Alabama for low-income customers will be accepted by the farmers.

Ms. Cole says the market is another way to bring people back to downtown Dothan - once the city’s shopping destination.

“All of us involved with the Poplar Head Farmers Market feel this in an important project,” Ms. Cole added. “It’s one more reason to come downtown. It provides an opportunity to see the amazing results of revitalization.”

Museum Avenue will be blocked off each Saturday morning in June and July for the Poplar Head Farmers Market. Fruit and vegetable vendors will utilize the southeast corner of the Dothan Civic Center parking lot. Local artisans will set up shop at Millennium Park and also at the Wiregrass Museum of Art. Entertainment and demonstrations will be held in Poplar Head Park.
Although the market will not open until 8 a.m., Cole encourages early arrivers to visit Moe’s for coffee and sweet rolls or take a walking tour of the murals. Or, she suggests, visit the shops that have opened on North Foster Street.

Visitors should take note that pets are not allowed at the Poplar Head Farmers Market.

The Poplar Head Farmers Market is one of three such markets available to Wiregrass residents. Other locations include the Houston County Farm Center (held on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday in June and July from 7 a.m.-noon) and First Assembly of God Church, Hwy. 84 West in Dothan (Thursdays only from 2-6 p.m. in June and July).

For more information about the Poplar Head Farmers Market, contact Cathy Cole, The Downtown Group, at 718-6081, or visit http://www.thedowntowngroup.com/farmersmarket.