Limerick鈥檚 Farmers Market has been running every third Saturday in August since the event was revived in 2012. On August 17, most of vendors were located inside the Limerick Community Hall on a relatively cold summer鈥檚 day, although a few entrepreneurs had their tables set outside on the village鈥檚 main street.
According to the event鈥檚 organizer, Shannon Lethbridge, there were 23 different vendors selling produce, baking and other goods produced by home businesses in 2019. Operators came from various areas in the region, including Glentworth, Mankota and Assiniboia. Hutterites from the Ponteix Colony were also selling agricultural produce.聽聽聽 聽
Although the public鈥檚 interest in running this community bazaar had declined for a number of years, Limerick鈥檚 Farmers Market had initially dated to the Neon Decade of the eighties. 鈥淎ctually, the Limerick Market started in 1982. Originally, the whole half of Mainstreet was shut down,鈥� Lethbridge said, describing the market in days past, when about 80 vendors participated.
Inside the hall, Val Fafard from Wood Mountain ran a bookstall filled with children鈥檚 books from Usborne Publishing. 鈥淭his year鈥檚 pretty comparable to how most years are,鈥� she said, also saying this was the third Limerick Farmer鈥檚 Market she鈥檇 been involved with.
In the outer corridor of the community building, Assiniboian farmer Wade Adamack was selling his homemade cone and extracted honey. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been steady,鈥� he responded when asked how successful his retail operations were on Limerick鈥檚 market day.
In the Limerick Community Hall, several businesses were retailing a variety of goods from the region. Brandy Weiterman from Kincaid had a stall displaying her homegrown garlic. Also, community interests were represented at the market, such as the Old Wives Watershed Association, who are interested in local conservation issues. The Gravelbourg-based organization assists farmers and ranchers to retrieve financial aid to advance the environmental sustainability and drought resiliency of their businesses.
