Good news: we're back! After a lot of thought, patience and a number of planning sessions, we are thrilled to tell you that we will return to producing farmers markets this coming summer and fall. COVID safety measures are in place.
Starting in June 2021, Rocky Butte Farmers Market will host five monthly markets providing access to affordable, seasonal, and locally grown foods and artisan products to Northeast Portland’s historically underserved Madison South, Roseway, and Sumner neighborhoods. These markets will take place the second Saturday of each month, June through October, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the spacious parking lot of Mannahouse Church (9200 NE Fremont Street). The 2021 market dates are June 12, July 10, August 14, September 11, and October 9.
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It’s probably not a surprise to read this news: the Rocky Butte Farmers Market will not operate in 2020 due to the life-altering world we live in, thanks to the coronavirus and Covid-19.
Despite a very positive response from neighbors, past customers and vendors, we realize that 2020 is overwhelming for just about everyone, and we think it’s best to pull back this year and plan for next year. We are pretty excited about all the wonderful things that will happen at the market in 2021, so we are keeping our eyes on the prize, making plans and dreaming of connecting with our passionate community of farmers market supporters. We look forward to seeing you then. Our next fundraising event is coming up in April — a native plant sale! We’re thrilled to be partnering with a new, woman-owned business, Sparrowhawk Native Plants. They are co-hosting this pop-up plant sale with us, and a portion of the sales will benefit Rocky Butte Farmers Market. Working with them has been an absolute pleasure and we are looking forward to our event together — Rocky Butte Farmers Market, Sparrowhawk, and you! So how does it work? Order over 60 varieties of native plants ahead of time between March 1 and 15 (or until plants run out), and we’ll distribute your pre-ordered plants to you on Friday, April 3, 9am-4pm or Saturday, April 4, 9am-2pm at Dharma Rain Zen Center (8500 NE Siskiyou Street). Dharma Rain is, of course, where we held our original pop-up markets in 2019. Rocky Butte Farmers Market will only benefit from the sale if you pick up at Dharma Rain on April 3 or 4, so we encourage you to choose that location with your order. We are looking for volunteers! If you’d like to volunteer at the pick-up days, head to our Volunteer page and sign up for a shift (or two!). We really need volunteer help, so sign up today! One of the ways the Rocky Butte Farmers Market (RBFM) is supporting its operations is through sponsorships (donations and events), and the first sponsorship event for the Market will be a “dine out” occasion at Arrowood, a fantastic local restaurant next door to Second Profession Brewing. The event will take place Monday, March 30 from 4pm to 10pm. 25% of sales from happy hour and dinner service that night will be donated to the Rocky Butte Farmers Market! Arrowood is located at 5846 NE Sandy Blvd.
Arrowood is a restaurant in the Rose City Park neighborhood that serves fresh seasonal food, local wines, and craft cocktails; they offer 14 taps featuring the beer brewed next door at Second Profession Brewing’s production brewery. They rotate their menu quarterly, so you know they are attentive to what’s in season at any time during the year. You can find them open seven days a week for lunch, dinner, happy hour, and brunch. “We are about being friendly and doing the work so our guests can relax and enjoy themselves without concern,” remarks Arrowood’s manager Mike Duggan. “We want to participate in local events and have a positive impact on our community.” Mike is a veteran of the food industry, and before he landed at Arrowood he was GM at North Portland’s Swift and Union. He has assisted in the opening of many restaurants over his career, and has done a great job with Arrowood’s offerings in food, drink and hospitality. Good news: we’re back!
Last year, the Rocky Butte Farmers Market held two very successful pop-up markets, and this year we’ve expanded to five monthly markets, thanks to a groundswell of community support. The markets will take place on the first Saturday of each month from June to October 2020, and will run from 9am to 1pm each day. Confirmed market dates are:
The market will take place at Mannahouse Church, in their large parking lot at 9200 NE Fremont Street [map]. Appropriately, the church is located on the actual Rocky Butte. We are so happy to be working with the kind folks at Mannahouse on this market. By Meg Cotner
We had another amazing popup market on Saturday, August 3. The market started at 10am and ended at 2pm, and we invited more vendors than last time, including more farmers offering produce (an overwhelmingly popular request after the first popup). During those four hours some amazing things happened: over 800 people---adults and children---came and connected with local farmers selling everything from free range eggs to flowers, baked goods to produce, honey to blueberries, and so much more. Our site hosts, Dharma Rain Zen Center, were particularly accommodating by not only opening up their courtyard to us, but allowing people to tour their Sodo, the building that is home to their meditation hall and kitchen. During our first popup, people were understandably curious about the site and that did not change during the second popup. Some highlights: both Shane Reaney and Olander Earthworks brought their gorgeous ceramics for sale. Doug Shafer and Riona Abhainn performed throughout day at the market, lending their beautiful music to the ears of the masses. Volunteers from the OSU Master Gardener program were on hand to answer any plant growing questions, as were Boots 2 Roots PDX volunteers. The Rocky Butte Coffee Roasters where there with James Helms selling beans and slinging cold brew. Not far away was the hugely popular Henry Higgins Bagels stall. El Local returned, offering their superbly fresh tacos, gorditas, and more. And we had a chance to taste and savor some incredible sweet potato ice cream from Bishop and Sons, and gluten-free treats from Caffe Lubena. A full list of participating vendors that day is below: Amica Farm Beke's Berry Farm Bishop and Sons Caffe Lubena - Gluten Free Chalchi Farm Davinia Acres El Local Fawn Lily Farm Flying Dog Heart Farm Henry Higgins Boiled Bagels Lanvin French Bakery Little Sun Farm Mad Roots (Madison HS interns) Mill Meadow Farm Olander Earthworks Onpoint Community Credit Union OSU Master Gardeners/Boots2Roots Rocky Butte Coffee Roasters Rocky Butte West NET Team (neighborhood emergency) Shane Reaney Studio Sherrett Food Forest Short Stock Farm Starry Moon Farm T bee S Honey Thorneberry Farm Trent Family Farm Whisper of Essence Bath & Body Rocky Butte Farmers Market Info Booth Doug Shafer and Riona Abhainn, musicians Big congrats again to our raffle winners. And many thanks to Heim Bakery & Cafe, OnPoint Community Credit Union (also the source of our first grant), and Pizzeria Otto, who provided the raffle prizes. We are hard at work developing the next phase of the Rocky Butte Farmers Market and look forward to bringing a regularly recurring market to the area in 2020. Stay tuned---you can get updates by subscribing to our mailing list (scroll to the bottom of the page for the signup form), and if you have questions, comments, or suggestions for us, you can send us a message. Three local businesses provided gift cards for our raffle at the Rocky Butte Farmers Market August 4th event. We thank these businesses for their support of the market as well as their provision of valuable services, donations, products, and gathering places for the community. Heim Bakery & Café: Heim is a café inspired by German roots and living room vibes. It’s a community space that features delectable pastries and other delicious brunch and lunch options. http://www.heimbakery.com/ OnPoint Community Credit Union: OnPoint Community Credit Union gives back to the community through its grant program – it provided the Rocky Butte Farmers Market with its first grant! Its employees also commit volunteer hours to local causes. https://www.onpointcu.com/ Pizzeria Otto : Pizzaria Otto features quality Neapolitan pizzas in a cozy, rustic setting with beer, wine and outdoor seating. https://www.pizzeriaotto.com And thank you raffle winners for joining us in our second pop-up market and providing critical feedback. Market attendees who filled out exit surveys were entered in the raffle. Exit surveys were used to collect feedback on our first pop up market, identify additional vendors and musicians for future markets, and find new volunteers. The raffle winners were:
Three local businesses provided gift cards for our raffle at the Rocky Butte Farmers Market July 13th event. We thank these businesses for their support of the market as well as their provision of valuable services, donations, products, and gathering places for the community.
Mom & Pop Wine Shop has become a community hub through its Friday night wine tastings, art shows, and other events. The shop offers affordable, quality wines from small producers around the world. https://momandpopwineshop.com/ OnPoint Community Credit Union gives back to the community through its grant program – it provided the Rocky Butte Farmers Market with its first grant! Its employees also commit volunteer hours to local causes. https://www.onpointcu.com/ Rerun, a neighborhood resale and consignment shop, sells quality used furniture, furnishings and other products at thrifty prices. It’s great to have a local business in our hood that is helping us reduce our impacts on the planet (buying used rather than new!) and furnish our homes at affordable prices. http://www.portlandrerun.com/ And thank you raffle winners for joining us in our market kick-off and providing critical feedback. Market attendees who filled out exit surveys were entered in the raffle. Exit surveys were used to collect feedback on our first pop up market, identify additional vendors and musicians for future markets, and find new volunteers. The raffle winners were:
Look for another raffle opportunity at our August 3rd farmers market! See you then! |
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January 2021
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