Article and Photos by Carl Gordon
Montverde’s Kirk Park is one of the best-kept secrets in Lake County, featuring plenty of shade trees with Spanish moss for cover during the hot months of the year and now, featuring its own Farmer’s Market on the first Saturday of each month.
Less than 5 miles from Clermont, on the scenic Green Mountain trail, the First Saturday Market features over 40 craft and specialty vendors with everything from produce to pet products, local honey and plenty of handmade homemade goodies from small businesses and crafters plus a wide array of food trucks treats.
Through the hard work of Jennifer and Alan Christy, Sweet Events & Markets was created and they started this market with one interest in mind, “helping other people with small businesses recover from a catastrophic year.”
“The idea formed after being put on waitlists from other markets and talking with other vendors and realizing that there was a need to give people who have started small businesses during the pandemic the opportunity to connect with the community in a safe and fun outdoor environment,” said Christy; who also has other events planned including pets and fairs.
Jennifer’s experience includes many years of working with the Kiwanis, the YMCA and the Elks doing many different events as well as managing and planning fundraising events over the years while working at Walt Disney World in fine dining, banquets and other productions.
“This market is made up of people that live and work within our community, it allows families to come out and shop with them and spend the day in the park with their kids and loved ones,” said Christy.
Christy stressed that she will strive to keep the community involved by having spaces available at no cost to nonprofit organizations, schools and community groups to allow them to also connect with the community.
“We even take it a step further and try to spotlight one nonprofit every month and offer some kind of fundraising opportunity for them,” said Christy.
The next First Saturday Market is May 1 and vendors interested can contact Sweet Events & Markets at 352-217-4359 as there are a few spots still open. The market hours are 10 am to 3 pm.
They can also be found on their facebook site at https://www.facebook.com/sweeteventsandmarketing
