Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market Reopens This Weekend
HALIFAX — Vendors will be back inside the Seaport Farmers’ Market this weekend, as the popular Halifax market takes a major step towards fully reopening.
On July 4, the inside of the market building will open to the public as primary producers and permanent stall tenant vendors open for business.
It will be the first time a substantial number of vendors will be set up inside the building since Covid-19 forced the market to shut down March 13.
“It’s really the next step toward where we want to be, which is the return of the regular market,” said Halifax Port Authority spokesperson Lane Farguson. “If normal is the goal, then this is certainly a lot closer along that path.”
Farguson says this weekend is the first time since the market shut down that customers will be encouraged to come by the market for “regular shopping.”
The Seaport Farmers’ Market has been taking small steps towards this larger reopening for weeks. In early June, the market opened its cruise seawall to the public and let a few of its permanent food vendors open for takeaway only.
Last week, some vendors were allowed to set up outside the market building, again offering only pick-up orders.
Now, customers will be able to enter the market, walk around, and browse several different vendors that will be set up.
“We don’t want people to linger in there for longer than they need to, but at the same time, they can certainly go and browse and reconnect with their favourite vendors,” said Farguson.
Even with the market reopening more fully, Farguson says there will still be strict health measures in place.
Vendors will be placed 10 feet apart and customers will have to keep six feet of space between them. A maximum of 150 people will be allowed in at a time, and traffic flow through the building will be regulated.
The market will run from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. both inside and outside, featuring “primary producers” and permanent stall tenant vendors.
In the coming weeks, Farguson says the upper floor of the market building will open, and grocery vendors, prepared food table vendors, and artisans will be added back into the market.
Farguson says the goal is to eventually get the market back to its full, pre-Covid-19 capacity. However, that won’t be completely possible until the