Clermont prepares for 100th, opens Farmers Market

CLERMONT - The town of Clermont in north Hall County will host its first ever Farmers Market starting this coming Saturday.

Kristi Crumpton, the vice-president of the Clermont Historical Society and one of the organizers for the market, said now is the perfect time to introduce the concept.

"The reason why we chose August 10th is because that is the birthday party -the 100th year birthday party- for the town of Clermont, so what we're doing is encouraging everyone to come to the Farmer's Market and then go an visit all the great businesses that are there in Clermont," said Crumpton.

Vendors from around the region will be set up in the parking lot of the Clermont "Dip" Library, according to Crumpton. Hours are 9 a.m. to noon.

Initially, the Clermont Farmers Market will be held on Saturday, August 10 and Saturday, August 17, but if there is enough interest, then there could be more dates into the fall.

"This is our trial run," said Crumpton. "Hopefully, these two days will be very successful and we'll continue on through the season. Our game plan is to hit the ground running next season and be open the entire growing season."

Crumpton said Steven Thomas with the Gainesville Farmers Market has been a big help with the Clermont market, and she said some of the same vendors who sell their wares in Gainesville on Fridays will be in Clermont on Saturday.

In addition, she said there will be a Clermont growers table, so local Clermont farmers will have a chance to sell their produce.

"We do have a lot of local farmers who don't necessarily have enough to sell every single week, but [they may say] 'I've go too much okra this week that I need to get rid of,' so we have to have some local farmers there as well," said Crumpton.