This Saturday marks the long-awaited return of Sequim’s main local shopping experience. The Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market (SFAM) opens for the season this Saturday, May 14, with more than 55 talented local vendors.
SFAM celebrates its Opening Day with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. Look for representatives from the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce in purple garb preparing a shiny ribbon for the ceremonial snip! We welcome all community members to join us as we ring in Sequim’s most exciting season to date.
The market runs 9 a.m.-2 p.m. each Saturday through Oct. 29 at Sequim Civic Center Plaza, at North Sequim Avenue and West Cedar Street.
For market updates, tune in every Thursday at 4 p.m. to KSQM 91.5 FM for a live radio interview with the folks who create your community market.
Celebrating local farms
In the mix with the largest farm vendor turn-out in SFAM history, River Run Farm brings a beautiful spread of delicious veggies to the Civic Center Plaza in their quest to provide good food and inspire good living in their community. Oceanside Nurseries has been gearing up for a season of vibrant produce, landscaping trees and plant starts. Sea Basket Farm is prepared to greet you brightly at the market entrance with their lovingly grown botanicals, smudges, and baskets crafted from kelp harvested from the Salish Sea. Rhea Sunshine Farm returns with tasty, nutrient-dense vegetables, grown with regenerative agriculture practices. Stone Tree Farms & Sativa Valley Essentials are back with their leading organic CBD medicinal tinctures and a plan to brim with bountiful fruit and vegetable offerings throughout the season. Jembe Farms, a family operation, arrives for its second season with offerings of nutritious produce and for the first time, hanging flower baskets. Shore Road Nursery returns for its second season with native plants available for restoring, re-vegetating, and landscaping your outdoor living space. Juan de Fuca Fungus joins the market for its first season with gourmet culinary mushrooms and mushroom growing kits. First-time SFAM vendor, Her Farm, joins us with a passion for consciously tending to all living creatures and systems while growing high-quality produce.
Farm-crafted, from seed to finish
Stock up on another jar of green onion powder from Olympic Onion Farm. Vince Gipson will be on hand to provide the freshest blends. Wildling Farm returns with farmstead jams, sourdough tortillas, homegrown wellness products and more. Sequim Bee Farm, fresh from their national recognition with their eighth medal from the Good Food Awards, is back at the market with their range of raw and natural honey.
Eating at the market
Shultz Smokehouse joins the market full-time this season with Kansas City-style barbeque. This eatery features Northwest twists and a priority for local ingredients. The Sweet Beginning joins the market time with baked goods, hearty salads, soups and a lot of love. Long-time Sequim locals will recognize chef Kathryn Kitts from her café by the same name located for many years in the Olympic Medical Center. Guests will smell the market from the moment they park their car, thanks to D’s Nuts. The aroma of Josiah Shearing’s cinnamon craft roasted nuts floats above the market grounds, providing a direct scent trail to a cone of tasty treats.
Local libations
Long-time Sequim market vendor Hurricane Hills is ready for another season celebrating the abundance of tasty local harvest with their locally sourced fruit wines. They’ll be celebrating Opening Day with their springtime favorite Rhubarb Rose and award-winning Blackberry Lavender. Effervescent ferments await you as Finnriver returns to delight Sequim foodies with their line of farmstead hard ciders. Boutique winery Seabeck Cellars joins the market fun with small-batch, hand-crafted wines made from the finest grapes in eastern Washington. Guests will be able to choose from 10 different varietals, ranging from red, white, rosé, sparkling and dessert wines.
Baked goods
Market favorite Blue Mountain Baking Co. is back for another exciting season with their delicious desserts, always made attentively by hand. Market guests can look forward to fueling up with a hand pie. After generating a highly enthusiastic following in the Sequim community, Cookie Daughters makes their market entrance this Saturday with their famous, intricately decorated sugar cookies. With weekly offerings only available at the market, shoppers can watch to see how these artful edible designs evolve throughout the season. Providing Sequim with her Southern-charmed baking talents for the first time is The Back Door Bakery, with homemade baked goods, reflecting the diverse background of baker Carrie Koehn’s experience as a culinarian.
Artisans
The question is not, “Do I need a bar of soap?” but rather, “Which bar of soap is for me?” when market guests visit long-time market vendor, Smoothie Essentials’ booth. Sheila Gregg presents an extensive line of uniquely scented, handcrafted soap and body products.
Handmade, upcycled rugs return from market favorite Raggedy Rug Co. Meanwhile, Olympic Peninsula Authors kick off the season with a new anthology, “Tall & True Tales of the Olympic Peninsula,” a collection of stories, essays, memoirs and poems by 35 local authors.
It wouldn’t be Sequim without a selection of premium lavender products, which means Let’s Do Lavender is ready to go with their products showcasing locally grown lavender. Renowned peninsula leather artist Snow Creek Leather will be on hand with her creations this Saturday, with hand-crafted leather belts, hair ornaments, pet collars, wristbands and wallets.
Market guests can look forward to seeing what’s new from the studio of Wheat Stalk Boutique. Erica Harris fits SFAM into her exciting schedule of festivals this season, with her popular multi-tonal and patina brass jewelry.
Joining the market community, for the first day in her limited pop-up series is local sewist Panty Witch. Rita Browning brings her line of handmade underwear made with reclaimed and vintage materials. This size-inclusive range (sizes XS-5XL available) has generated a devoted online following. This Saturday marks Panty Witch’s in-person Sequim debut.
Emma Jane Garcia is the Director for the Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market.
Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market
Open: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 30
Location: Sequim Civic Center Plaza and Centennial Place, downtown Sequim
More info: manager@sequimmarket.com
Emma Jane Garcia/Sequim Farmers Artisans Market Snow Creek Leather’s belts are on display at the Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market.
Get your hands on some ribs, courtesy of Shultz Smokehouse, at the Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market. Submitted photo
Emma Jane Garcia/Sequim Farmers Artisans Market Tim Acree and Rachel Anderson greet visitors at the Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market information booth.
Check out some fresh produce at the Jembe Farms booth courtesy of Jennifer Unruh (and Claire). Photo by Emma Jane Garcia/Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market
