The Farmer’s Wife brought her market to Tioga the evening of April 25, with permission from the mayor and city staff.
The independent farmer’s market, which boasts a list of nearly 100 vendors on its roster, brought many to the Gene Autry Festival Park for the first of what will be a bimonthly evening market this season.
“We cut Valley View back,” The Farmer’s Wife Markets Amber Whitworth-Spigner said. “We were doing it the fourth Saturday every month, and we cut that back, so we’ll switch Valley View and Tioga each month.”
Whitworth-Spigner said the northernmost Ranch City caught her eye thanks to one of her vendors, Kruger Farms owner Jacklyn Kruger, who grows and sells all-natural organic produce.
“I started at Sanger and then we had a vendor who lived in Valley View, so we opened it up there and the same happened with Tioga vendors,” Whitworth-Spigner said.
Kruger set up shop adjacent to the information desk where Whitworth-Spigner and her husband were located.
“It brings our community together,” Kruger said. “I’ve met five of my neighbors that I’ve never met before. It’s getting to see our community in a place where we can come and mingle and feeding our community, also.”
Whitworth-Spigner mirrored Kruger’s sentiment, explaining she tries to encourage community as much as commerce during her markets.
“My husband’s a farmer and we travel a lot because he’s on the board of the Denton County Farm Bureau, and I really wanted to help farmers to be able to talk to the community and get their product out there easily,” Whitworth-Spigner said.
Greg Pelzel of PointBank in Pilot Point praised the event as he joined Shirley Fritz at Favorite Sister Bakery for a handmade pie.
“It’s a more farm and garden and food type item market,” Pelzel said. “I like that. The music’s good, too.”
Tioga’s own Backroad Travelers Band played at the pavilion as patrons shopped and talked.
“It’s exceeded expectations,” Whitworth-Spigner said. “We knew there would be a big turnout, but I didn’t think it would be this big. We’re at 302 right now, and we’re one hour in.”
To stay updated on the new bimonthly stop at Tioga, patrons can follow the Tioga Farmers Market page on Facebook or subscribe to the newsletter at thefarmerswifemarkets. com.
“We have a newsletter,” Whitworth-Spigner said. “You can just sign up, and I send out information if there are cancellations and a vendor list for who is going to be here. I just want to thank everyone for coming out and supporting all the vendors. It’s been a great turnout so far, [but] ... we want to expand it more. I want the whole park to be full.”
