January 11, February 8, March 8, and April 12
Mark your calendars and grab your market bags! Nourish Knoxville, the non-profit organizer of the Market Square Farmers’ Market, is hosting a Winter Market every second Saturday of the month, January through April, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Historic Southern Railway Station at 306 Depot Avenue. Inside the train station’s original dining room, patrons can shop for locally grown produce, meat, coffee, baked goods, specialty foods and more. Outside, food trucks will be serving lunch with locally sourced ingredients. Additionally, tours of the restored train cars will be available on the hour, starting at 11 a.m.
The Historic Southern Railway Station is being leased for the market by Blue Slip Winery owners Linn Slocum and Jeff Galyon, who will be renovating the building to house the winery, host events, and become home to a train museum. “As supporters of the locally grown movement, we are proud to partner with Nourish Knoxville to host the Winter Market at the Historic Southern Railway Station,” says Slocum. “The facility and property is a natural fit to showcase this event. There’s indoor space, outdoor covered space and free on-site parking.” Galyon and Slocum anticipate moving their operations to their new location by April of 2014, which would allow for wine tastings at the April Winter Market.
Charlotte Tolley, Executive Director of Nourish Knoxville, has been working with the Market Square Farmers’ Market for 10 years and has seen an increased need for a place for farmers and bakers to sell their goods in the winter months. “We are excited to be partnering with Blue Slip Winery to create a marketplace for farmers and food producers through the winter months. Many of our farmers have meat, storage crops, and early spring vegetables during these off-months but very limited outlets to sell them. This is a wonderful opportunity to provide our community with local food year round and to provide our growers with income in the challenging winter months.”
During the Winter Market, The Old Smoky Railway Museum, Inc. will be hosting guided tours of the restored train cars directly behind the Historic Southern Railway Station. Tours will be conducted on the hour beginning at 11:00 a.m. with the last tour at 2:00 p.m. Admission to the train cars is $7.00 for adults, $3.00 for children ages 5 to 12 years.
Nourish Knoxville strives to make each of their markets accessible to everyone in our Knoxville community. VISA, MasterCard, and SNAP transactions will be accepted at the information booth. Please see our website, http://www.marketsquarefarmersmarket.org, for more information.
