Red Deerians' favourite Saturday morning ritual resumes May 17 when the Red Deer Public Market opens for the season.
Rain or shine, about 130 vendors will welcome visitors to the opening day of the market, held outdoors at parking lot C at Red Deer Polytechnic, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
"We've been waiting a long time for this. It seems like forever, but it's come up pretty quick," said market co-manager Patrick Moffat about the season opener.
Moffat's father Dennis organized the first-ever Red Deer Public Market 55 years ago.
"I'm proud of my dad. He did a good thing."
Moffat said two weeks ago the forecast called for rain on Saturday. But now it should be partly cloudy with a high of 17 C.
Getting out to the market early in the morning is the way many people like to kick off their Saturday shopping and activities. Visitors should expect more of everything this season at the market where all vendors are welcome, he said.
"We don't vet our vendors like a lot of markets do. They only want so many of this, so many of that. We believe that the customer decides who they're going to buy from, where they buy from. It just makes it more fun."
He said with more people focused on buying local, even more visitors and vendors are expected at the market this season. Red Deer Polytechnic is the ideal location. Parking lot C can hold 200 to 240 vendors, and the market could also expand to nearby parking lot D.
"Prior to COVID, we were around the 200 mark. We'd like to get the numbers up this year. We're seeing some growth. It's coming back. Just with the number of calls and feedback, we're going to see a lot of new vendors."
He said the market has received approval from the provincial government for highway signage, and there will be other efforts to continue to reach out to local residents and beyond.
"Red Deer has changed in 55 years. There's still a lot of people who have moved into town that don't know about the market.
Visitor parking is free at the market, which operates each Saturday until the Thanksgiving weekend.
