The Provo Farmers Market is wrapping up its season with some international vendors and a special holiday twist for its second to last week.
For over 20 years, vendors have gathered in Downtown Provo on Saturday mornings to sell food, produce and crafts of all kinds. Running from June all the way through October, the farmers market has become more than just work for the vendors who sell there.
“It plays such a very emotional, communal-like role in so many different ways,” Emily Weatherhead, assistant director of Provo Farmers Market, said.
Silvana Alvarez from Argentina is in her second year selling with the market. Her booth is known for bright, original paintings of places she has been. She offered more affordable options, such as prints and stickers.
Alvarez explained that she likes to make cards with copies of her prints where she can share her testimony of Jesus Christ.
“I think it isn’t about a language of words but just a language of souls,” Alvarez said. “The people that pass by thank me because they can feel it.”
Vendors also enjoy the sense of community in the market. According to Weatherhead, some vendors are constantly changing but many have been with the market for a decade.
“It’s just nice interacting with people and hearing other people's stories,” market vendor Claudia Cisternas said.
She and her mom began a family business selling crochet and 3D printed figures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally from Chile, the family now commutes from Eagle Mountain to sell in Provo.
For the last week of the season, the farmers market will turn into a Halloween market with pumpkin carving and booth decorating contests.
“Great music like great costumes, Halloween stuff, everywhere it’ll abound,” Weatherhead said.
She said the best decorated booth will win a free space at the market for the next year. This is probably her favorite week of the season, she said.