It is a sure sign of spring when the Regina Farmers Market has Pat Fiacco Plaza buzzing with excitement.
Saturday marked the first day of the outdoor season for the market. The market will run every Saturday and Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. until Oct. 7, 2023.
“We are ecstatic to be out here, and we are grateful to the city for their support and for helping us be out here again this year,” Holly Laird, the executive director of Regina Farmers Market said. “The plaza does feel like our home and we’re just really excited to be back at least for one more year.”
This will, however, be the final year the market will be in the plaza for the foreseeable future. The construction of downtown roads will force the market to find a new home from 2024 to 2026.
The market has been held there for nearly 50 years.
The construction will take place on 11th avenue and will see the road completely dug up from Broad Street to Albert Street, meaning the only access to Cornwall Street will be from the Pat Fiacco Plaza.
On Saturday, Laird said 38 total vendors were in attendance, and it will continue to grow as roughly 70 vendors participate by July.
One of those vendors is Kathleen Larkin, and her stand “Nana K’s British Pies”. In honour of King Charles III coronation, a special deal was offered to celebrate.
“I made a coronation pie, which is a take on sandwich filling from the 1953 coronation,” Larkin explained. “It’s a creamy chicken, with a hint of curry…. And I also made a King Charles special which was a spinach quiche.”
2023 also marks the first ever Thursday market, which will be held at a separate location from June to August.
A ‘Satellite’ market will be held at the Horizon Station Park from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., offering vendors and consumers one more chance to come together.
“The concept of these satellite markets is that they may have fewer vendors, but you still have all your farmers market staples there.”
The Thursday market opens on June 1.
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