A new
farmers’ and artisans’ market has opened in Sattler, Texas, and gives locals
the opportunity to both buy and sell foodstuffs, arts and crafts, and other
things produced in our area.
Sattler
Farmer’s Market is the brainchild of Jessica Japhet, whose family moved from
San Antonio to Comal County when she was in middle school in the late ’90s and
who has run her own home-based Toots’ Sweets Bakery since September 2015 (shown at right in front of VFW Post 8573 in Sattler, where the Sattler Farmer's Market sets up). She
has acquired some experience with farmers’ markets over the years, including
the one in San Marcos, which she has exhibited at, and a number of others in
the area where her parents have sold their kettle corn.
“My
goal for is just to make something really nice for the community to have,”
Japhet said. “We don’t have anything like this out here and it will give people
a nice place to come and hang out on the weekends and educate people about our
area and its agriculture and arts. Having small businesses and locals selling is
also going to help our economic growth. A lot of older people live out here, too,
and it will be easier for them to come here than to New Braunfels or San
Marcos. I have a really good feeling about this.”
Japhet
is organizing the Sattler Farmer’s Market with the cooperation of Veterans of
Foreign Wars Post 8573 at 14625 River Road, and on Saturdays it will be located
in the open area between it and the Comal County Justice of the Peace facility
(and, she said, people are welcome to use the parking lots for either location).
On Sundays, which Japhet said she expects to be busier than Saturdays for the
market, vendors will also be set up along the River Road side of the VFW hall
and people will be able to park in the lot for Real Pit BBQ, which is closed
that day. It will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both days and, Japhet said,
every weekend for the rest of the year.
“We’ve
got a great turnout so far and I’ve been reaching out to more farmers to let
them know that we’re here,” Japhet said. She added that she has thus far
accepted 18 applications from vendors and that they will all be present at the
market this weekend, some on either Saturday or Sunday and some on both days. She
also said that just this week she contacted 60 area farmers and has been
following up with and hearing back from them.
“Right
now we have people doing jerkies, jams, jellies, salsas, and farm-fresh eggs,” Japhet
said, and she will also be selling her own baked goods at the market. “It’s
open for handmade goods and local artists.” There are other local events where
local artists have the opportunity to sell their work, she said, but many of
them are open to only a limited number of vendors or are held just once a year.
Japhet
said she believes the Sattler Farmer’s Market will grow steadily as the weather
improves, especially after the tourism season begins, and is planning turning
it into a bit of a fair the weekend after Easter, May 7-8, which she is
referring to as a “Spring Fling.”
“We may
have a BBQ, I’m thinking the fire department or police might want to come out
and do a meet-and-greet, maybe have a bounce house,” she said. “Kind of make it
a whole family thing for people who want to hang out and give them something to
enjoy on top of purchasing things.”
For more information or a vendor application,
go to bit.ly/SattlerTXFM. Sattler Farmer’s Market also has pages on Facebook and Twitter. A 10-by-10 vendor space at the market costs $15 a day and
people can choose to sell their goods on either one or both days.
