Jessica Quinn does not know exactly how long Hancock has been without a farmers’ market, or the reason it stopped, and she has been asking.
“Nobody seems to know what happened and why it went away,” she said.
Furthermore, Quinn, a native of Francestown, did not realize when she volunteered for the Hancock Recreation Committee last year that it had been dormant since 2019 and had no members. She recruited other members and is now the chair, and as they talked about things they wanted to do, a farmers’ market was one of them.
In February, Kathy Anderson, who runs the town’s summer concert series, attended a meeting, and talked about her hopes to attract more people to the concerts. From that discussion came a plan to hold the farmers’ market before the concerts, so from July 7 to Aug. 11, the market will take place on the green in front of Town Hall Thursdays from 4 to 7 p.m.
“It seemed like a good idea to combine the two,” Quinn said.
The Recreation Committee got to work quickly on the market, Quinn said, researching rules and regulations for other local markets, such as the ones in Keene and Sunapee before running all their plans past Town Administrator Jonathan Coyne’s office to make sure everything was all set.
The market will be open to both local farmers and artisans, as Quinn cited the wide variety in Hancock: farmers, beekeepers, cheese-makers, bakers, chefs and artists.
“We’re open to a broad range of vendors,” she said. “The focus is trying to feature as many local Hancock residents as possible.”
Each vendor will have a 10- by 10-foot space, and Quinn anticipates there will be room to fit up to 15. She said 10 people have applied so far, and if there are more than 15 or multiple vendors selling the same thing, organizers may try to rotate or alternate them, especially if some are not looking to commit for the entire six weeks.
“A part of what we want to focus on is variety and making sure that community members who come to participate have a great experience,” Quinn said.
The cost to participate is $10 per week, or $45 for vendors willing to commit to the entire season. Applications are due by May 15, and are available at bit.ly/hfam2022application. Market rules are available at bit.ly/hfam2022rules, and for information, send email to market managers Meghan Gould or Quinn at recreationhancock@gmail.com.
In addition to the market, the Recreation Committee brought back the Winter Frolic in February, and swimming lessons will return this summer. The committee will also collaborate with Jen Booth and Deb Coyne on summer camp and be part of Old Home Day in August.
As the committee plans for the rest of the year, it sent a survey to get input from residents.
“There’s a lot of interest in updating Moose Brook Park,” Quinn said. “It currently does not have a playground or a walking path. We have also heard a lot of support for pickleball. Hopefully, there will be even more in the future, especially as concern about COVID keeps dropping.”