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May 10, 2007

Farmers’ Market almost ripened

By Evan Belanger

The Festhalle Market Platz will open for business June 2, says manager Jimmy Simms.

In an interview Thursday, Simms announced the market was “99 percent complete” with some minor work left to do.

The announcement marks the beginning of the end for the market’s construction phase — ground breaking was in November for the $620,000 facility.

“Right now, all that’s left are some little touch-ups,” said Simms Thursday. “We’re going to paint the office and bathrooms and the road department will probably finish paving the parking lot by the end of next week.”

While official grand-opening ceremonies are yet to be announced, Simms said, the market will be open for business following ribbon-cutting set for 7 a.m. June 2.

In addition to produce, herbs, local honey and homemade candies, the opening day will also feature musical entertainment.

Simms stressed the market is as much a community pavilion as it is a farmers’ market and said it will be utilized for events like Oktoberfest, Taste of Cullman and the Day Lilly Plant Sale. This year, it has already been booked for a wedding rehearsal dance, a 50th wedding anniversary and a wedding shower.

On non-business days, the market can be rented for $200 per day, according to Simms.



Rules and Hours

Rules of operation for the market were approved by the Cullman City Council in March. They call for the market to be open three days a week and booth spaces to be priced at $10 a day — $20 on Saturdays.

According to Simms, the booth spaces were priced fairly low compared to other markets in the state to encourage vendor participation.

“This should include backyard gardeners and everybody,” he said.

In addition, weekly rates are available at $35 and annual rates are available at $350.

Hours for the market will be 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.

According steering committee chairman Raymond Williams, the hours will allow both morning and evening shoppers to spend time at the market.

“It gives people who work in the morning an opportunity to pick things up on their way home rather than letting their produce sit in their car all day,” he said.

Other regulations call for all merchandise to be homegrown or homemade and give local vendors preference for booth space over out-of-county vendors.



Architecture

Located at the corner of First Avenue NE and Arnold Street in Cullman, at 7,250-square-feet, the facility will be the largest timber-framed structure in the state when it is completed, according to Simms, possibly the largest in the Southeast.

Using mortise-and-tennon joints, the farmers’ market is constructed with techniques that date back hundreds of years, Simms said.

Based on similar structures which have been standing in Europe for centuries, the market’s solid-beam construction — some of the beams weigh more then 1,500 pounds — and old-style architecture were intentional, Simms said.

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