Historic Fernandina’s popular farmers market, the Fernandina Beach Market Place, will be open on Saturday, June 18, 2016, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m, rain or shine.

Highlighted vendors this week include the return of semi-monthly vendor, Blue Planet Organic. Sonya will be set up with a wide variety of with organic nut butters, edible seeds, flat breads, quinoa, and other tasty treats that are loaded with health benefits.

Boatright farms comes every week and with the rapid approach of summer, they are busy harvesting their crops of beans and peas. Look for pink eye – purple hull, garden pea, baby green lima, black eye with snaps, brown crowder, zipper cream, Fort Hood butter bean, lady finger or white acre, and speckled butter beans.

Nana Teresa’s is a local bakery that joined the farmers market a few months ago. They attend every Saturday with tempting creations such as adorably decorated cookies, amazing cupcakes, fabulous pretzel bread, sweet pastries, and much, much more. I asked Mark how Nana Teresa’s got their start and he said, “It all started with a cupcake.” I learned that Nana Teresa had a stressful corporate job, working for a Fortune 500 company, and it included a lot of travel. As a stress reliever, she would bake. For her oldest granddaughter’s Teacher Appreciation Day, Nana baked cupcakes for all of Emily’s teachers. Her science teacher liked the cupcake so much that she asked Nana Teresa to bake her wedding cake… and the company was born.

We invite you to join us any Saturday of the year and meet our exhibitors to hear more stories like this. The growers and producers you will find at the farmers market love to talk about their “baby” – for these are their businesses, their passion, and their livelihood.

Music this week is provided by Bruce Beville and the Laid Back Band known for playing family friendly, toe-tapping favorites.

Our Booth with a Cause will be Stop the Bear Hunt, an organization opposing Florida’s black bear hunting season. This non-profit has organized a statewide protest, being held in several Florida communities this Saturday, to raise awareness and educate the public, while they attempt to stop the next bear hunt which has been approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and is scheduled for October 24 – 30th.

To learn more about the farmers market, to become a vendor, or if you are a musician and would like to perform at the Market Place, please visit our Market Manager Judie Mackie; she is at the market every Saturday.