Hartford Farmers Market returns

HARTFORD, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Hartford is kicking off summer with its first farmers market of the season on Thursday.

“Our Hartford Farmers Market is in our downtown area in Hartford between 1st and 2nd, right on Main Street,” said Michelle Titterington. “We have the market on the first Thursday of every month, and it is from 5 to 8:30 p.m.”

The market features homegrown and homemade products that are mostly local.

“We actually have grown the market quite a bit over the last five years. We’ve gone from 15 vendors to over 30 vendors now. We’re still continuing to have vendors contact us. We have everything from dog treats to produce, hand creams, beard creams, so quite a wide variety of handmade items that the vendors provide for the community.”

There is much more to do at the market than just shop, from kids’ activities to food and music.

“We will have a garden that we have the kids play in in the first market, then when they come back for the second market, they actually get to harvest whatever they planted, which is always really fun. We have a petting zoo coming for one of the markets. We have the 605 Parks coming, and then every single one of the markets we have what we call Touch a Truck, where we have different trucks, a crane and a fire truck so the kids can come and play and learn about all these different things.”

“Two food trucks will be in every market. Plus we have Creekside Meats, which is the local butcher that we have in town providing a meal, as well, that you can come purchase. And then we have different live music that’s going to be at every market, so something that you can do is just hang out, eat your food and enjoy the time now.”

The farmers market is a very important part of summers in Hartford.

“I think it really brings all of us together as a town, as neighbors. It’s a time for us to really just come together, be able to do local shopping. We have food trucks that come in, we can listen to live music, and it’s just a moment to get away from your everyday life of work and all the chores you have and just to be able to spend it within your community and your neighbors. It keeps you close-knit.”

The Hartford Farmers Market is an essential stop for the whole family.

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