Taube Park selected as new Marion farmers market site

The Marion Farmers Market will have a new site when it re-opens for the season in May.

Market vendors will set up their wares at Taube Park, 2200 31

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St., replacing the decades-long site at the Marion Shopping Center.

“This is the best location we can think of at this time,” said Pat Carlson, administrative assistant for the Marion Parks Department and farmers market coordinator.

Carlson said the site, a neighborhood park, has a small pavilion and plenty of parking for customers.

All of the nearly 20 vendors will not be able to set up under the covered space, but some attend other open-air markets and have their own tables and tents, she said.

Hours for the twice-weekly market will be 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturdays and 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays, from May 5 through Sept. 29.

The city was forced to move the market when a new development, called Lincolnview Square, was designed for the Marion Shopping Center.

Marion had leased the location since the 1980s, where a covered shelter was specifically built for the market with 20 booths.

That building, plus ample parking and restrooms at the highly visible intersection of Seventh Avenue and 35th Street, made the location ideal for the market.

A new Linn Area Credit Union branch and CVS drugstore are now under construction at the site in the first phase of Lincolnview Square, a $22.5 million development.

The farmers market building was deconstructed with the materials to be reused on a nearby farm.

Carlson said just one vendor plans to not participate in the new site, but the majority favored the Taube Park location.

“It looks like we might have some new vendors, too,” she said, citing vegetables, baked goods, plants, meats and crafts as market staples.

Years ago, the farmers market operated at a site in Thomas Park, near the Cedar Rapids border.

Carlson said Thomas Park will be especially busy this summer with a new splash pad and would not be conducive for a farmers market.

She said other options might be considered in future years.

The Marion Chamber of Commerce operates a separate Uptown Marion Market in City Square Park on the second Saturday of the month from 7:30 a.m. to noon in June, July and August.