After losing its farmers market, this Wichita suburb plans to start its own
The city of Derby will see a new format for its farmers markets this year.
Kansas Grown — who hosts the farmers market at the Sedgwick County Extension Center and recently announced a new one in Andover — previously held a farmers market in Derby every Saturday during the season, but recently decided to stop. That’s what made the city decide to host its own, Derby’s Marketing and Events Manager Andrea Walters told The Eagle.
Now, the city is planning to start hosting the Derby Market as an additional feature of its Third Thursday events.
“We just saw this as an opportunity to bring a farmers market alongside Third Thursday to kind of help it along the first year,” Walters said. “We’re going to see how it goes this year, and then look at it. . . in the future to see what we do.”
Walters said that the city wanted to make the new Derby Market “farmers market oriented.”
“The Derby Market definitely focuses on market type vendors that were really heavy in produce, meat and dairy, homemade items like jellies and sauces and things and then some items that are homemade items,” Walters said. “We’re trying to avoid craft fair, but it (will be a) home farmers market.”
Walters said the city has around 25 vendors signed up for the April event. While every month will have some of the same vendors, Walters said they are aiming to also bring in different ones every month to avoid being stagnant.
“We had an overwhelming response to the open call that we had at the first of the year,” Walters said. “We’re trying to kind of change it up and make it interesting each and every time.”
Vendors can apply to be at the event by filling out a form on Derby’s website.
In addition to the new Derby Market, Third Thursdays also include live music, food trucks and activities. Put on by the city, the events are sponsored by Derby Public Library and Derby’s Art Council.
This year, the events will have themes. For example, April’s event will have an Arbor Day theme and May’s event will be a multicultural night.
Third Thursdays will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. in April, May, August and September in Madison Avenue Square Park and October at Decarsky Dog Park.
Derby Market will be at the same location and same time from April through September. In June and July, when Third Thursday events are not happening, the market will be a standalone. Walters said it has not been confirmed if they will hold the market in October.
“It’s great to have another event alongside (Third Thursdays), just to draw a different crowd, more people to it, and hopefully it’ll just be very successful,” Walters said.
