More than four decades after being founded, the Errington Farmers’ Market is still going strong.
Now in its 44th year, the Errington Farmers’ Market opens this Saturday. The market runs Saturdays from May through to September from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Errington Community Park (1550 Veterans Rd.).
The market was started by Gerry Shaw in 1973 after Shaw and her family moved to the area from California, said Bob Herbison, who has been on the Errington War Memorial Hall board for more than 30 years.
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In California, Herbison said, open-air markets were popular. Herbison said Shaw thought Errington would be a great place for an open-air market as well.
Herbison said Shaw opened the original market at the corner of Errington Road and Grafton Avenue in “downtown Errington.”
Shaw died of cancer in 1988, Herbison said. But the Errington Farmers’ Market Society had been formed earlier in the same year, with the goal of preserving Shaw’s vision.
It was in 1992, Herbison said, that people from the society came to the Errington War Memorial Hall board to ask if the market could move to Errington Community Park — where it officially re-opened in July, 1993.
“So, for many years, the Errington Market was the only open-air market in our area,” Herbison said. “Now there are markets in Qualicum Beach, Parksville, Cedar and Lantzville — obviously, Gerry’s idea was a good one which is still alive today.”
Other summer markets soon to be starting up include:
• The Qualicum Beach Farmers Market, which runs year round, operates on Veteran’s Way from the first Saturday in May to Thanksgiving weekend in October.
• The Parksville Museum Farmers’ Market starts up again May 26 and will continue until Sept. 15 on Fridays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The market is located on the museum grounds at 1245 E. Island Hwy. Admission is free.
• The Summer by the Sea, or locally known as the Craig Street Market, runs Tuesday evenings from 6-9 p.m. The market starts June 13 and runs until Aug. 29. The market runs between Highway 19A and Jensen Avenue, boasting more than 150 vendors.
• Bowser’s Magnolia Court Summer Market runs Wednesdays from 5:30-7:30 p.m., starting June 14 through to Sept. 13. The market features music, local produce, jewelry, artisans, edibles and wares.• The Uptown Market is back this year on Thursday evenings from 5:30-8:30 p.m. in July and August. The market runs along Second Avenue in Qualicum Beach from Memorial Avenue to Primrose Street.