The 55th Red Deer Market season has officially begun.
Saturday, May 17 was the first day of the weekly public market, which runs 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every Saturday from May long weekend to Thanksgiving weekend in Red Deer Polytechnic's north parking lot.
"We've been excited to get going again," said Patrick Moffat, who manages the market with his sister Fiona.
"It feels so long from the time the market ends in October to now. ... We know that we had a goal of getting things up and running again and we're here."
Dennis Moffat, father of Patrick and Fiona, created the farmers market in the 1970s. It was located by Servus Arena for a number of years, before relocating to RDP in 2023.
RDP has been an ideal location for this market for the past three years, Patrick Moffat noted.
"It's such an accessible location and the parking is great," Moffat said.
"The stalls are wider and bigger for the vendors. We haven't heard a single complaint here. The polytechnic is so good to work with. They've bent over backwards for anything we need. We don't need much, but they've continued to be here for us. If we need anything, they'll say, 'How can we help?' It fits with the community and lifestyle that we want this market to have."
The market got off to a good start on May 17, Moffat added.
"We have more vendors to start than last year. We have around 90 vendors today. Last year we were in the 70s," said Moffat.
"People are starting to come in, so that's nice. Based on the feedback we were getting in the off-season, more people are wanting to come to the market. We're expecting some more casual vendors and people who want to try it out. Just like in the years past, we expect to see the number of vendors and customers grow as the kids wrap up their school year."
The Red Deer Market is open rain or shine. For more information, visit www.reddeermarket.com.
