Photo courtesy of the City of Pittsburgh

By Caitlyn Scott/Pittsburgh Media Partnership intern

With temperatures climbing above 60 degrees and vacations beginning, Pittsburgh has welcomed back its annual farmers market to kick off an early start to summer.

Presented by CitiParks, the City of Pittsburgh’s Farmers Markets, taking place in Squirrel Hill, East End, Carrick and North Side, will satisfy your appetite and give consumers the opportunity to choose from a variety of farm-fresh fruits, baked goods and hand-crafted products.

Olivia Izzo, co-owner of Catchfly Gardens, will give participants the option to choose from a variety of flowers and bouquets at CitiParks’ Squirrel Hill market.  

“We build each bouquet almost like a bridesmaid bouquet,” Izzo said. “You’re not going to find straight round bunches from us.”

Catchfly Gardens has had a presence at the Squirrel Hill market since 2020, previously participating in Swissvale’s farmers market in 2019.

Although customers can anticipate the return of their favorite vendors such as Catchfly Gardens, a few new faces are expected to make an appearance this year.

Brian Daniels, owner of Arpa Tea, LLC, will participate in East End and North Side’s farmers markets for the first time. Daniels said that he is excited to share his passion for Paraguay, yerba mate and health with the community.

“We are a startup known for our sugar-free, yet, sweet 100% whole-leaf yerba mate and stevia herbal tea,” Daniels said. “Participating in the farmers market allows us to directly tell people about our product and mission. It also gives people the chance to meet us.”

Along with Daniels, Em Collins, owner of EmTree Bath & Body, will be showcasing an array of soaps, shampoos and lotions – in bar form – for the first time at Carrick and East End’s farmers markets this season.

“I’m looking forward to connecting and meeting members of the Pittsburgh community,” Collins said. “EmTree has done well at markets in the past [so this year], I wanted to be able to branch out to the new markets I haven’t been to yet.”

With new and returning vendors present this season, each will have the opportunity to sell and advertise their products to residents who have been unable to travel to business and farmers’

facilities, broadening their engagement with new communities and residents.

Christian Kale, owner of Lucky Sign Spirits Distillery, said that having the opportunity to participate in Pittsburgh’s farmers markets gives businesses such as his the chance to engage with the community while giving him and his employees the experience to try something new.

“I think the Pittsburgh farmers markets are awesome,” Kale said. “They get a wide variety of people and it’s amazing. We weren’t able to participate in this market before because we didn’t have enough people but this year we do, so we want to be a part of this because the city puts on really great markets.”

Maria Kretschmann, owner of After the Fall Cider, plans to take part in the markets in Squirrel Hill and the North Side. She expressed how participating in these markets has aided in promoting her ciders to communities that would be difficult to reach out to on her own.

“The farmers markets are a great place to get lots of people to see your products,” Kretschmann said. “No one really comes out to the farm to buy stuff, so farmers have to go into where the people are. And for me, I’ll be able to market to those in the North Side and Squirrel Hill.”

Kretschmann also said those wanting to see what the market has to offer should come out to not only engage with vendors but also to gain an experience they may not get at any other market outside of CitiParks.

“What are you waiting for?” Kretschmann asked. “If you really want to support the farmers market, come to the farmers market.”

Each market will take place on different days and times, running through mid-November. 

Operating hours and locations for each market are as follows:

Squirrel Hill, 5737 Beacon St., 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 19.

East End, Larimer Ave., 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Nov. 20.

Carrick, 1529 Brownsville Rd, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Nov. 15.

North Side, 801 Union Ave., 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays through Nov. 17.

For additional information pertaining to which vendors will be participating, check out CitiPark’s Farmers’ Market information here.