By Billy Davis

Batesville’s farmers market will start its second season June 1 with a new name, slightly changed hours, and a $5 weekly fee for vendors.

The newly named “Square Market” will continue its Wednesday afternoon time but open up to the public at 2:30, organizers announced this week.

The first-ever farmers market last summer proved wildly successful, with vendor participation swelling to more than 40 booths by July.

Record-high temperatures chipped away at participation, both from vendors and the public, but the market held on through the fall.  

Twenty-five vendors participated in last year’s opening day in Batesville, on June 30.

Batesville Main Street oversees the farmers market, with Batesville city government considered a sponsor of the market.  

The 2:30 opening time rolls back last year’s opening by 30 minutes, with vendors selling until 5:30 each Wednesday. The farmers market closed at 6 p.m. last year.

Organizers last year discussed moving to a morning market, when temperatures were flirting with triple digits. Main Street also fielded some calls for a weekend market, but the Square Market will remain a Wednesday afternoon event through October.

“We were asked a lot to move it to Saturday,” recalled Bobbie Jean Pounders, a Main Street member. “But many of the vendors were already booked for Saturdays. Plus, a Wednesday farmers market gives them a mid-week date to sell their produce.”   

The Square Market began as the Panola Farmers Market last year, when Pounders and Glenda Bailey led a push to organize it after years of stop-and-go planning.

Pounders and Bailey now represent a farmers market committee along with Mary Troxler and Joe Azar.  

Pounders, a former Batesville alderman, trumpeted upkeep of the Downtown Square during her tenure in office. She is overseeing the Square Market as its manager.

Main Street organizers have also resisted some calls to move the farmers market to the Batesville Civic Center, according to Pounders.

To ready for the new season, Batesville Main Street expects to mail a hundred packets to 2010 vendors and to new prospects, said Main Street manager Colleen Clark.  

The packets announce the new start time, describe rules for setup and operation, and announce the new $5 fee for each Wednesday, among other information.

The 2010 farmers market kicked off without any funds from Batesville Main Street budgeted for the summer-long event. The weekly fee will help pay for marketing and promotion, according to Clark.

Vendors can pay a season-long fee of $100, which is $20 less than the week-to-week fee.

Neighboring farmers markets charge a $10 fee to vendors, with half that fee paying for the market manager, according to Pounders, who said she is not being paid for her work.

Clark said the new information also includes food preparation guidelines from the Miss. Department of Health, which the Square Market is required to follow.

 “We’re not trying to be too restrictive with our guidelines. But there are rules we have to follow,” Clark said.

The three-page food guidelines are being mailed to vendors along with other rules and regulations.

Other news passed along by Clark: T-shirts are being designed for sale at the Square Market, and the market is seeking volunteers to help each Wednesday.

To reach Batesville Main Street, contact it at the Panola Partnership office at 563-3126.