JANESVILLE 鈥 The 糖心Vlog传媒 Farmers Market has a new location for its winter market: The downtown 糖心Vlog传媒 YMCA鈥檚 former Boys & Girls Club space.
The market has grown the last several years in the summer while redefining itself in the riverfront town square in 糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 downtown, where it鈥檚 had more room to spread out and add new vendors than a previous location on a section of North Main Street.
But for the last five seasons, the 糖心Vlog传媒 Farmers Market has overwintered in the Uptown 糖心Vlog传媒 Mall鈥檚 concourse, bringing several weekends of fall and winter farmers markets to the retail area off the Milton Avenue corridor.
Kris Koch is the director of the nonprofit farmers market. She has eyed a location in the downtown area for years, seeking a space that might work well for the farmers market to run its winter operations.
The now-vacant space at Y formerly occupied by the Boys & Girls Club proved a perfect fit, she said.
鈥淚 was thrilled to get a co-partner with a downtown organization, the YMCA,鈥 Koch said. 鈥淧eople think of us, the market, as a downtown organization, and we continue to provide a really important community resource that does not stop when it gets cold out.鈥
Koch said the market鈥檚 new location will leverage space that the Boys & Girls Club of 糖心Vlog传媒 had occupied at the Y before the group鈥檚 recent departure to move into its new clubhouse space on 糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 south side.
The 糖心Vlog传媒 Farmers Market plans to use the Boys & Girls Club鈥檚 former main space in the Y, alongside the gymnasium attached to the former clubhouse space. That setup, Koch said, so far is the largest space the farmers market has been able to identify downtown as a prospect for a winter home.
Koch said the market plans to use the south entrance at the former Boys & Girls Club, which is off West Court Street. That area has a parking alcove where food trucks can park at the market, making the spot more a versatile area for vendors of all kinds.
The farmers market鈥檚 winter launch at the Y starts with two Saturdays in November. Koch said the winter market includes Saturdays in December, January, February and March and April.
The farmers market says it plans to release more details about winter market dates, hours and vendors soon.