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Roe Jan Farmers Market thriving, hopes to expand

Oct 19, 2016 6:30 am

Lorna Cherot Littleway is reporting in The Columbia Paper a recent customer survey found that the Copake Hillsdale Farmers Market attracts on average 500 people every week, increasing to 1,000 visitors on major holiday weekends. The market is held at Roe Jan Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday. According to the survey, 60 percent of the people who visit the market are part-time residents; 40 percent are local residents of Hillsdale, Copake and the surrounding area. The results of the survey were presented to the Hillsdale Town Board by Ron Bixby, a member of the market's Steering Committee. The survey also found that customers spend $15 to $30 at the market every week, and an additional $50 at local businesses, such as the IGA and Stewarts. The market currently has 27 full and part-time vendors. The market will close this year at the end of October. Bixby said the Steering Committee hopes to revive a winter market sometime in the future. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.