The Edmonton Downtown Farmers Market will be returning to its home on 104 Street next month.
In March, the city announced the market would be moving to a year-round facility at 97 Street and 103 Avenue—and even opened for the season at its new space on May 18—in anticipation of construction on 104 Street.
But without plans for infrastructure work on 104 Street, the city has given the market a chance to move back for the rest of the season.
“The City had a prior agreement with the EDFMA to run the Market on 104 Street,” the City of Edmonton explained in a statement.
“That agreement was cancelled in December due to anticipated construction restrictions in the area. Some of those construction restrictions have since decreased. So, the Downtown Farmers Market was given the opportunity to return.”
The Downtown Edmonton Community League said it started to plan programming of its own on 104 Street when it realized the street would remain mostly clear throughout the summer.
“It's very centrally located and it just has a really good vibe and it's taken a really long time to develop that,” Chris Buyze, president of the league, said.
Instead, starting June 15, the Downtown Farmers Market will operate on 104 Street on Saturdays, and at its new location on Sundays.
When construction is expected to increase next year, the market will likely permanently move to 97 Street and 103 Avenue.
Rima Devitt, co-owner of the Blue Plate Diner on 104 Street, said the business is looking forward to the market's return, and what it has come to know as a typical weekend morning in the summer.
“Saturdays were jam packed; people to the rafters wanting food,” Devitt told CTV News. “It was a great atmosphere.”
With files from Timm Bruch
