2012 Outdoor 

Market Dates  

  The 2012 outdoor season will 

  begin May 12th and run for 

  23 consecutive weeks until 

   October 13th. 

  Vendors can download 

  application forms here:

  2012 vendor application - pdf 

  2012 vendor application - word 

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What to Expect

A common question from people who hear about the market is "what can I expect when I get there?" Here are some of the little things that will make this market "the place to be on Saturday mornings":
 

Market Day

It’s Saturday morning, and colourful tents dot Montrose Avenue from George Ferguson Way to Pine Street in Historic Downtown Abbotsford. Local produce growers, small-scale food producers, and creative artisans have just completed the finishing touches on their booths, and not a minute too soon. The shoppers have arrived, browsing among the aromatic baked goods and vibrant salad greens, the colorful handmade soaps and harvest-fresh apples. A local band breaks out in song.

Welcome to the Abbotsford Farm & Country Market.

Founded in 2004 by a partnership which included Community Futures South Fraser, Abbotsford Downtown Business Association and Tourism Abbotsford, the Abbotsford Farm & Country Market (AFCM) quickly established itself as the premiere market in the Fraser Valley for locally grown and made products. Quality standards for the Market are high and all products must be grown, processed, baked or handmade in British Columbia. Vendors are approved by an adjudication process and there are a wide range of products, some of which change with the seasons as fresh harvests are brought in.

Market Manager Bruce Fatkin says that the secret to the success of the AFCM is the very high level of community support in Abbotsford. Local business and industry, the City of Abbotsford, Downtown Business Association, Community and Service clubs, volunteers, vendors and our customers all contribute. They all help to make this one of the most vibrant and exciting Markets in BC.

"At a time when most developed societies depend on third world food sources," Fatkin says, "British Columbia Is fortunate enough to produce 50% of it’s own food. A major reason for this is the rich agricultural areas like Abbotsford, which alone produces 25% of the $500,000,000 British Columbia annual agricultural output. And, at a time when most agricultural regions depend on one, or a few, crops, the variety of products from Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley is truly astonishing. Almost all experts agree that the food that is best for you (and the most delicious) is the food grown close by. This is a chance to have some of that best food and meet some of the people who grow, process and prepare it."

Visitors can expect the offerings to change with the seasons, moving from spring produce like rhubarb and berries, to artichokes and such exotics as tomatillos and miniature melons though to Fall bounties of beets and other root vegetables, pumpkins, apples, and fresh cranberries.

Put it on your calendar and we'll
"see you at the market"!