Sunny weather, St. Patrick’s Day and a new location mixed for a festive opening to the Vancouver Farmers Market on Saturday and Sunday.
Hundreds of people, many with pets, strolled around Sunday searching for produce and miscellaneous items. In its 30th year, the market has relocated from West Sixth Street to West Eighth Street, while keeping its spot on Esther Street next to Esther Short Park.
Terry Armitage, 52, of Vancouver, volunteered Sunday, beginning her third year at the market. Armitage kept an updated head count and tallied 1,168 people at one point, she said.
“This is an absolutely wonderful turnout this weekend,” Armitage said. “Everybody likes it much better because there’s more room.”
Mainstay vendors, like Steve and Jeri Cella of Battle Ground, were pleased with the warm weather, which is unusual for opening weekend. The Cellas, who sell items for young children, skip markets when it rains to avoid potential damage to the merchandise.
“We’re kind of weather-permitting,” Jeri Cella said. “This is perfect.”
Their spot this year on Esther Street, as opposed to West Sixth Street, suits them, Jeri Cella said. “People would say, ‘I didn’t know it went around the corner.'”
Jeri Cella, 61, started making and selling bibs, featuring specialty designs and a number of sports team logos, at the market nine years ago. As she was shopping for bibs for her granddaughter, she was not impressed with ones she found in stores, which inspired her to create her own.
Nearly three years ago, Steve Cella, 61, began making wooden growth rulers and joined his wife at the markets. The couple sold 500 of them last year, Jeri Cella said.
While the highest marks on the rulers are over 6 feet, 5 inches, they are 8 inches shorter than they appear because they’re meant to be placed on a stand. Children at the market like to stand next to them and pretend they’re a few inches taller than they actually are, Jeri Cella said.
“I would joke that us old people need that because we’re shrinking,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of fun with these rulers.”
A lot of people brought their dogs, but some, like Scott Counard, wandered the market with more exotic animals.
Counard’s parrot Shadow, 14, sat atop his shoulder. Shadow was a popular attraction as adults and children alike lined up to pet or hold the blue and gold macaw.
“He’s been coming since he was 12,” said Counard. “It gives me a chance to socialize him.”
Counard, 65, of Vancouver, started going to the market about 15 years ago. When he isn’t socializing, Counard enjoys shopping for produce, which he said has the best strawberries around.
Counard said he likes the market’s new layout but is concerned about parking. The opening weekend also allowed him to reconnect with various people he has met over the years.
“I love the market,” Counard said. “I know a lot of the vendors because I’ve been coming for so long.”
