A farmers market is a recurring gathering where local businesses can sell directly to their customers. Vendors are often farmers but are also artisans, bakers, and other tradesmen.

At the Mill City Farmers Market there is an assortment of products ranging from artisan ceramics and jewelry to hand-milled flour, baked goods, local honey, maple syrup, produce and more.

According to the Farmers Market Coalition, in 2008 more than 85 percent of vendors traveled fewer than 50 miles to sell at a farmers market. Buying from a farmers market over a supermarket benefits the vendors directly. This helps the local economy by keeping the money in the community.

Due to cold weather conditions in Minnesota, the Mill City Farmers Market takes place inside the Mill City Museum commons throughout the winter season. In the summertime, the market takes place between the Guthrie Theater and the Mill City Museum, overlooking the Stone Arch Bridge. Both venues often have live music.

The market brings together a host of different people, customers and vendors alike.

“We love Mill City. Everyone tries to be as organic as possible. The other vendors share the same philosophies we do,” pastry chef and the Salty Tart owner Michelle Gayer said. Gayer is nationally recognized and critically acclaimed for her pastries.

“I’ve truly enjoyed working these past 3 summers with such kind and creative vendors,” Sassy Knitwear seamstress Stephanie Johnson said.

For many of the vendors, their favorite aspect of selling at markets like Mill City is customer interaction. In this environment, consumers are able to meet the creators, who are rich with insight on their products and often have an interesting background to their business.

“The customers are knowledgeable and they love learning about food,” co-owner of Sunrise Flour Mill Marty Glanville said.

Beyond the vendor and customer interaction, many of the vendors find Mill City to be unique.

Adrienne Logdson, owner of Kiss My Cabbage, sells at multiple markets, but, “Mill City has more vendors, therefore more variety.

“It’s by far the biggest market we have done,” Glanville said.

Vendors arrive at Mill City anywhere from 1 to 3 hours before the market opens to set up and prepare for a long, busy morning. For many of them, markets are the only place customers can buy their products.

Unlike in the past, many of the Mill City vendors now use Square, an application that allows customers to pay with cash or credit card which makes it easy to purchase with any medium.

Mill City offers a variety of unique people and products. Markets like Mill City are great places to find new products and to support the community. It’s also one of the few places customers can buy products directly from their source.

Other popular farmers markets throughout the year are Kingfield, Fulton and the Minneapolis Farmers Market.