Murphys, CA…The Murphys Farmers Market Sponsored by Calaveras Grown and supported by the Murphys Community Club. “Murphys has needed a community farmers market for a long time and this is just another reason to come into Murphys on a Sunday morning and enjoy the park and town” stated Sue Friedman of the Murphys Community Club.

The market runs from 9am to 1pm every Sunday. The farmers participating in the market offer a myriad of fresh produce grown within Calaveras County. All producers are free from artificial pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers and naturally grown. Most incorporate permaculture and regenerative practices in their farming. Popular food vendors at the market included Pure Mountain Smoothies, a newly formed business in Calaveras and the baked goods by Butter and Cream out of Arnold who brought 80 loaves of bread, dozens of baked goods, muffins and cookies and was sold out within the first hour of the market.

Although the park is full of vendors selling locally produced goods, produce and crafts, there is still plenty of areas to enjoy the parks picnic tables, grass and creek. “We listened to the community who wanted to make sure the park was not overrun with vendors and not accessible to families and visitors so we made sure to keep the creek and gazebo accessible so kids could still play and people could still enjoy a picnic in the park or set up blankets on the grass. We heard from a lot of visitors that the extra activities and opportunities to shop the market was an extra perk to visiting Murphys park” said Freya Borean, event coordinator of the market.

Although a small market by comparison to others in the neighboring counties, the Murphys Farmers Market was made up of many small farms and producers and all were local to Calaveras County. “We are delighted with all these new farms and new members to Calaveras Grown and pleased to have another farmers market in the county that offers them an opportunity to connect to their community and build their businesses” stated Billie Hammer, president of Calaveras Grown. “And we have our long term members attending like John’s Natural Food Products selling grass fed beef and free range chicken. Now there is something for everyone to source food from our local Calaveras producers.”

The Murphys Farmers Market is being co-managed by Micalah Frey and Freya Borean, who both grew up in Calaveras County. Because the park can only hold a limited number of vendors, they had to be selective when extending applications to vendors to join the market. “Our number one goal for this market, stated Micalah Frey, is to create a community hub for a localized food system. We will be adding a few more vendors including olive oil and vinegar, local honey and farm fresh eggs and we have a full list of workshops that we will be hosting every week including workshops on fermenting, seed saving, permaculture, and beekeeping from local agricultural experts. We also will be hosting yoga, live music, a farm to kitchen walk of the market with a local chef, art lessons, indigo dying and music play for kids.”

The Murphys Farmers Market runs weekly on Sundays mornings starting at 9am thru 1pm with the exception of July 21st where the park will be hosting a previously scheduled event for the Murphys School of Music. Visitors are encouraged to come early for best selection and to take part in one of the weekly activities. For more info email murphysfarmersmarket@gmail.com or follow on Murphys Farmers Market on Facebook.

This event repeats weekly every Sunday until 10/21/2019