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Farmers Market opens with prizes, music

LEE PERLMAN
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO

The new Parkrose Farmers Market will be a big deal for the neighborhood, and so will its grand opening on Saturday, May 3. The market will open at 8:30 a.m. in the Parkrose High School parking lot, Northeast 122nd Avenue and Shaver Street, and the first hundred early birds will get — no, not a worm — a special market bag.

The opening will become official at 10 a.m. with a ribbon cutting by Parkrose School Superintendent Karen Gray. Entertainment the first day will be provided by Freckles the clown creating balloon animals and riding his unicycle, and by the Jazz Express, a 17-piece big band that plays regularly at Tony Starlight’s nightclub in Hollywood.

The market is not just a one-time event, either. It will be there every Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. through October. The entertainment will continue with James Clem and his Mississippi Delta Blues appearing on May 10, the Quartette Barbette on May 17, the Charlie Bailey Band on May 24 and Russ Liquid on May 31.

However, the real stars of the show are the farmers and their produce. Market organizer Steve Voorhees told the Memo he has 35 vendors lined up for opening day, providing produce, dairy products, berries, nursery stock, melons and pesto, among other things.

Voorhees, who owns the MAVDAV Farm, said, “My family has always been interested in the welfare of this community. When Rossi Farms closed, I thought that instead of taking crops to Gresham, farmers could sell it here in Parkrose.

“It has to be a win-win situation for the market to work. I worked with the school district and the business association for a year. This should be a win for the farmers, the school district, the business community and the neighborhood.”

It should. A comparable venture in Hollywood draws shoppers from miles away and results in much more commercial activity than merchants at average markets usually see. Come on down on May 3 and watch its birth.

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