A Pembroke artist wants to get a farmers market going in town, but a fundraising snag could delay the project a year.
Kellie Dyjak received approval from the select board last month to set up shop in the green area behind town hall once a week on Wednesdays during summer and fall. But now she needs $1,000 to file for minor site-plan approval from the planning board, she said.
Dyjak said four vendors have so far told her they’d participate if the project gets off the ground, but want to do so on a pay-as-you-go basis, at least for now.
“They’re not willing to put up the money up front until it’s been proven. And I don’t blame them. There have been a lot of farmers markets that have popped up and they did really great for a month, but then they fizzled out,” she said.
Dyjak was originally hoping to start up the first Wednesday in June this year, and go until the last Wednesday in October. But unless a windfall comes her way quickly, she said she’d just fundraise throughout the year and bring it back next year.
She said she opted to pitch a weekday, evening farmers market to not compete with larger, established Saturday morning markets in nearby Concord and Warner. The Pembroke market would go from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
While people often load up on groceries over the weekend, Dyjak thinks the mid-week market would fill a need for all those little items people suddenly realize they need. She also said she thinks Pembroke would be well placed to catch commuters on their way home from work.
“So I think that middle of the week is perfect for people that are driving from Concord to Manchester on Route 3 and say ‘oh, I’ll grab some garlic,’ ” she said.
Dyjak, who draws and crochets, has sold her art at both Henniker and Warner’s farmers markets.
“And I just came to believe very strongly in supporting our local agriculture and our local businesses. And what better way to do that than an outdoors farmers market?” she said.
(Lola Duffort can be reached at 369-3321 or lduffort@cmonitor.com.)