For locals who love fresh produce and like to browse the wares of local vendors, the Crooked River Open Pastures (CROP) Farmers Market is open every Saturday in Prineville at Stryker Park.
This growing event is Prineville's weekly farmer's market and is open this season from June through September 24 each Saturday. The vendors are set up by 10 a.m. and go until to 2 p.m. All the events and booths take place on the west end of Stryker Park, near the Splash Pad.
Vendors from all corners of the community bring their wares to the market, with a variety of local food, produce and crafts. The event is part of CROP, a project of the Crook County Small Farm Alliance. It consists of a series of events which take place throughout the Crooked River Basin at various farms and farm supported locations. Each farm event features farm tours, a farmer's market and in some cases, music, and additional fun-filled activities.
Dee Mozingo, a longtime member of CROP, noted that they started out with four vendors when they first began the market. In addition to the fresh produce, homemade goods, and beef at the event, the crafts and materials are all hand made. A local coffee vendor brings coffee for all attendees. Kaye Reynolds from Twisted Llama is there each week with bagels and other baked goods, and Linda Stephenson from L & S Farm and Garden has jams, jellies, and pies. There is also an educational booth for children by John Campbell, where they can learn about grinding wheat with a gasoline grinder, an electricity demonstration, and other hands-on activities.
"People are recognizing it and coming," Mozingo added.
Diane Belmavis is the President of the CROP Board, which consists of nine members, who are also vendors at the market. She indicated that they also have new and intermittent members, and at the recent Saturday market, there were 17 vendors. Music, supplied by a local member, played in the background as customers browsed booths of colorful wares, including jewelry, crafts, local berries and produce, and local foods.
Vendors included Wine Down Ranch, Catman Cellars, Bee Positivity, Dry Creek Lavender, Twisted Llama, Copper Tree, Dre's Creations, Janasee's Jewelry, Willamette Berries, Aspen Woods Farms, Windy Acres Farm, L & S Farm, and Designs by Diedra.
"This is the first day of the new market manager. For the last the months, I have been filling in as market manager-mostly to see what it involves so when we hired somebody, I would understand what it involved," said Belmavis.
She added that there are more vendors each year, and more customers browsing and buying at the market. She noted that social media has also played a part on marketing the event, and she speculates that more folks are aware of the benefits of fresh, whole food, and like to support local vendors. A D V E R T I S I N G | Continue reading below
"It takes a while to build something," said Belmavis. "We have all these new, young vendors, besides the old timers who are here now."
She noted that each Saturday morning, they have a yoga class at 10:30 a.m., and Campbell conducts a demonstration with vintage farm machinery. There is a booth set up for visitors who have questions, and fresh coffee by a local vendor. She also explained that there are reasons why locals with gardens cannot just bring in their excess to the market for a one-time only market, as there are regulations that include insurance for the vendors. In spite of this, they have a loyal group of vendors and customers. The "berry man" from Willamette Berries, has a continuous line of eager customers, waiting in line for fresh corn, blueberries, blackberries ,peaches, raspberries, and strawberries.
LaCressa Scherrer recently moved to Powell Butte from Sisters, and she and her husband discovered the CROP Saturday Market last season in 2021. She recently took on the role as CROP Manager.
"We loved it and loved supporting community and the local market--getting everybody together and sharing foods and all the beautiful products everybody is making," Scherrer commented of her beginning involvement with the CROP board.
Crooked River Open Pastures (CROP) Farmers Market Location: Stryker Park A D V E R T I S I N G | Continue reading below
Address: NE Fourth and Elm streets
Every Saturday, June through Sept. 24
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Morning yoga begins at 10:30 a.m.
Fresh coffee available at the information booth
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