Winter Market Updates: Kitsilano Winter Market Launch & Hastings Park Pause
Kitsilano Winter Market Launched for 2024-25 Season: Expanding Local Food Access in Vancouver
This winter, Vancouver Farmers Markets is excited to announce the launch of a brand-new Kitsilano Winter Farmers Market at Kitsilano Secondary School! Starting in November, this new market will offer fresh, local produce, baked goods, and everything local to the Kitsilano community. With the brand new winter edition of Kitsilano Farmers Market, the Kitsilano community can now enjoy the same quality and selection of local goods they’ve come to love, all year long.
Meanwhile, after 10 seasons, VFM has made the difficult decision to pause the Hastings Park Winter Market. Despite the market’s strong roots in the Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood, it has not been able to sustain a base of farmers and shoppers necessary to make the market sustainable for our participating vendors to the standards we have come to expect. We extend our deepest gratitude to the vendors, shoppers, and our site hosts at the PNE, who supported the Hastings Park market over the years. We have so loved being part of this neighbourhood and its extended communities and are hopeful for opportunities in the future to return to this area as long as we can overcome some of the challenges to sustaining a critical shopper and vendor base. With gratitude to all those in the community for the support over the years… we encourage everyone to visit our other winter markets in Kitsilano, Riley Park, and Downtown!
Yes, you read it right! This year, our Downtown Farmers Market will also be running for a longer season, extending right up to December 18, 2024. And therefore, along with your ever loved Riley Park Winter Market, you’ll now have three vibrant winter farmers markets to explore this year.
As always, we remain committed to providing access to fresh, locally grown food and supporting small farmers across Vancouver. We are so excited for the opportunity to bring a Sunday Winter market to Kitsilano, with hopes to connect BC farmers and small producers to the community and keep our network vibrant through the winter.
Stay tuned for more details about the Kitsilano Winter Market opening this November, and mark your calendars for a winter season filled with an abundance of local food!
