Current conditions in Dubuque, IA
People walk along the Dubuque Farmers Market on July 1, 2023.
People walk along the Dubuque Farmers Market on July 1, 2023.
Downtown Dubuque will again be a weekend hub of foot traffic this weekend as dozens of vendors prepare to greet large, eager and often-hungry crowds.
The Dubuque Farmers Market returns Saturday, May 3.
The market, now in its 180th season, sees up to 4,000 visitors during its busiest weeks, according to Laura Bertjens, Dubuque Main Street operations manager.
“It’s amazing how this community has supported its local farmers,” Bertjens said.
From 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday mornings through September, this year’s 106 approved vendors will set up shop along Iowa Street between 10th and 13th streets and around City Hall, offering local produce, beverages, arts and crafts products and more. October hours are 8 a.m. to noon.
“People really enjoy it,” Bertjens said. “People get to meet the people who are growing their food. They connect. They get to talk and ask questions. For some people, it’s the only place they want to buy their produce.”
Among the changes to the market this year is the addition of a fourth location for live music at the intersection of Iowa and 10th streets. This will complement live music at three other locations spread across the market. Music will vary each week, Bertjens said, with performers registering on a first-come, first-served basis.
Organizers this year also are adding seating in the form of picnic tables and benches placed around the market. The amount of seating each week will depend on the weather, Bertjens said.
“We’re excited to bring this new amenity seating to the market,” she said.
The market will continue to offer patrons the option to pay with wooden “market money” tokens — available for purchase on site — which come in $5 increments and are accepted by all vendors and treated like cash. Customers using SNAP/EBT cards will receive blue tokens in $1 increments, and standard SNAP/EBT restrictions apply.
Project Rooted $5 Bucks can be used at certain vendors who sell vegetables, fruits, whole grain bread, meats, cheese, eggs, herbs, plants that produce food, syrup and honey. These bucks, provided to children served by the local nonprofit, cannot be exchanged for currency, and vendors cannot charge sales tax.
Some patrons will see a minor change in payment this year to Double Up Food Bucks, for which the market partners with the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative. For every $1 of SNAP funds redeemed, SNAP participants also will receive a $1 Double Up Food Bucks token weekly, up to $15 — compared to up to $10 last year.
As always, this year’s market will feature new and old faces on the list of vendors.
Among the market’s first-time vendors will be Galena Roasters. The Galena, Ill.-based specialty coffee roasters, who also operate a coffee shop in downtown Galena and a bistro within Midwest Medical Center, are bringing their food truck to the market.
“We made some trips over on our own to scout it out, and it seemed like a great market,” said Galena Roasters owner Earl Thompson. “It just seemed like a great place to be.”
Thompson will serve up coffee, other beverages and food such as breakfast sandwiches. He said he is eager to introduce his offerings to farmers market patrons.
“We have awesome coffee,” Thompson said. “We’re all about the science and the craft.”
Other vendors have been farmers market staples for years — or even over a century.
The Fincel family farm, which got started in Dubuque in the 1880s and is now based in East Dubuque, Ill., has been a vendor at the market since the farm’s inception, said Frank Fincel, who owns and operates the farm with his family.
“I don’t know, in the past three generations, that we’ve missed a Saturday,” he said.
While the farm’s locally famous sweet corn is not in season until about July 4, Fincel said his booth Saturday will feature asparagus and radishes, with tomatoes and strawberries available in June, among other produce.
Area farmers markets
IOWA
Dubuque: 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays in May-September and 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays in October, located on Iowa Street between 10th and 13th streets and around City Hall.
Dubuque Millwork Night Market: 5 to 8 p.m. Thursdays, May 8, June 12, July 10, Aug. 14, Sept. 11 and Oct. 9, located on Jackson Street between Seventh and Ninth streets.
Dyersville: 3 to 5 p.m. Thursdays, May 22 to Oct. 2, at Dyersville Commercial Club, 225 11th St.
Dyersville Downtown Market: 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays, June 28, July 26, Aug. 30 and Sept. 27 at Legacy Square, 214 First St. SW.
Guttenberg: 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays, May-October, in the 400 block of South River Park Drive.
Manchester: 7:30 to 11 a.m. Saturdays, May 24 to Oct. 4, along River Street behind Bushel & A Peck.
Maquoketa: 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays, May 13 to Oct. 14, at Ohnward Fine Arts Center, 1215 E. Platt St.
WISCONSIN
Cassville: 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays, May 24, June 28, July 26, Aug. 23 and Sept. 27, at Volunteer Park, 304 Denniston St.
Lancaster: 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, June 10, July 8 and Aug. 12, at Ryland Park, 113 W. Elm St.
Platteville: 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays, May-October, at City Park, 75 N. Bonson St.
Potosi-Tennyson: 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays, June 14 and Aug. 9; 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. July 12 at Ss. Andrew-Thomas School; 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 6 at Hickory Hill Park.
Shullsburg: 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays, June 21, July 19, Aug. 16 and Sept. 20, downtown on West Water Street.
ILLINOIS
Galena: 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays, May 17 to Oct. 25, in the Galena City Hall parking lot, 101 Green St., onto a portion of Green Street.
Galena Territory: 8 a.m. to noon Sundays, May 25 to Oct. 12, at the Territory Owners’ Club, 2000 Territory Drive.
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