A celebration of community at Barrie Farmers' Market

It was a celebration of all things local Saturday morning at the Barrie Farmers' Market.

The market held a Community Services Day. In addition to its traditional vendors, various community agencies were on hand to interact with the public and give them a look at how they operate.

Emergency services, including the Barrie Police Service and Barrie Fire crews, were on hand, interacting with local residents. Members from various city services were there as well, including Barrie Transit and the Barrie Public Library.

"For us, it's an excellent thing for us to bring the community together," says Mike Madden, the chairperson for the market. "If you're looking for something to do on a Saturday morning, this is the place to be. We've got everything from petting alpacas to games, vegetables, meats, and arts and crafts."

Madden says with most COVID-19 restrictions eliminated, the turnout to the market has been tremendous this year.

Saturday's themed day is one of many ways the market is trying to broaden its appeal to the general public. They recently started holding mobile markets on select Thursday afternoons, one of many efforts currently underway.

"What we're trying to do is to gauge what kind of marketing we can do and how many people we can draw because our intention is to eventually move this market to a permanent market in the downtown Barrie core near the bus station area," says Madden. "So we're trying to get people to know that that is what is going to happen in the future, and the mobile market is a big part of that."

The market runs every Saturday morning from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. near City Hall. For a list of their mobile markets, click here.