(New Buffalo, MI) - The revitalized farmers market in New Buffalo this year is experiencing a very noticeable increase in shoppers and vendors, much like the revamped market operated by the same manager in La Porte.
The market called “Farmed and Forged” is open every Thursday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Whittaker and Merchant streets until September 5th.
Market Manager Mandy Krickhahn said she was hired by the New Buffalo Business Association, which was impressed by her work in revitalizing the farmers market in La Porte last year.
Krickhahn said the number of vendors for each market this year in New Buffalo has averaged 24 or at least twice as many as 2023 since the near lakefront market set up for the first time on May 30. The number of shoppers at each market has also substantially increased, ranging from 650 to 1,400.
“The traffic has been wonderful,” she said.
In comparison, the highest attendance for the market in downtown La Porte this year has also been about 1,400 while the number of vendors is often near 40.
The market in LaPorte at Lincolnway and Monroe Street is open every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. until September 30th.
She credits new market attractions like artists demonstrating their talents with a paint brush in New Buffalo and chefs performing cooking demonstrations and offering free samples for customers to taste in La Porte for the upswing.
She said the produce offered by vendors is grown within a 100 mile radius of both communities. The produce varies depending on what’s in season. Currently, Krickhahn said there’s plenty of sweet corn, blueberries and other in season produce available. Meanwhile cherries, which are ready to pick starting in May, have begun showing up in fewer numbers. Other products available from vendors at the market include meat and homemade baked goods like bread.
There are now plans to open a Farmed and Forged market next year in Michigan City, where a comeback is also sought for a market that has been struggling there in recent years. The location of the market in Michigan City and other details have not yet been decided.
Krickhahn is also the founder of The Collective, a group that has worked with independently owned small businesses throughout northwest Indiana since 2019 on things like networking and marketing so they become more successful. Her members at The Collective include Burn ‘Em Brewing, which expanded into a larger facility several months ago on U.S. 12 east of Michigan City’s Uptown Arts District.
“The first year I think we had about 12 members. Now, we have around 100 and I love that our members are from all different industries. It’s been really cool to see how it’s progressed," she said.
