Market Season

Fondy is a covered, open-air market. Market and events take place rain or shine! Free parking is available on the street or in an adjacent lot.

Saturdays June 22-October 26

• Seasonal Soul: A Celebration of Milwaukee's Food Traditions Cooking Booth - cooking demos, canning classes, tastings
• Family Activity Booth - arts, crafts, and fitness activities that celebrate health and wellness for kids of all ages - 1 - 99! 
• Music at the Market - Live music from local artists 10 am - noon
   

2013 Special Events at the Market

• Opening Day Celebration & 6th Annual BBQ Cook-off - Saturday, June 22
• Dedication of IN:SITE Milwaukee's Art Installation at Fondy Farmers Market, featuring Wild Space Dance Company and more - Saturday, June 29
• IN:SITE Neighborhood Art Fair - Sunday, June 30
• 6th Annual Greens Throw-down Cooking Competition - Saturday, July 20
• Haymarket Days - Saturday, September 7
• PumpkinFest - Saturday, October 26 4 pm-7pm

Please visit the Sponsors tab for a full list of all the Milwaukee-area businesses and foundations who are supporting the 2013 Fondy Farmers Market.

Sponsors

There are a variety of Market sponsorship levels available for the 2013 season.  Click here for more information on 2013 Market Sponsorship opportunities.

Harvest Level: Presenting Market Sponsors from 2012

Music at the Market Season Sponsor 2012

Bert L. and Patricia S. Steigleder Charitable Trust

Seedling Level: Saturday Music at the Market Sponsors 2012

North Avenue Marketplace BID #32 - August 4th, September 15th, September 29th

Youth Booth Season Sponsor 2012

Fondy Friends & Neighbors 2012  (Local Organizations and Businesses Within the Fondy Neighborhood)

Market Events

This year's Opening Day Celebration and 6th Annual BBQ Cook-off kicks off a year of celebrating Art and Food.  This year's entertainment line-up includes Market favorite Fourth Street Elevator, Milwaukee Art Museum's Kohl's Color Wheels, and more (to be announced).  All events are free and take place between 9 am and 1 pm.  

This year's 6th Annual BBQ Cook-off will includes a number of celebrity judges.  Judging of chicken takes place at 11 am and pork ribs at noon.  

The Fondy Farmers Market will be open 7 am to 3 pm on Saturday, with a full roster of farmers and prepared food vendors.  Here's the schedule for Saturday's events:

9-9:15 am            National Anthem and Opening Remarks

9:30-10:30 am     TBA

9-12                    MAM Kohl's Color Wheels

10:30-11:30        TBA

11                        6th Annual BBQ Cook-off Judging: Chicken

12                        6th Annual BBQ Cook-off Judging: Pork Ribs

11:30-1 pm          TBA

All events are free and open to the public.  Hope to see you there!

Greens Throw-down - Saturday, July 20

Calling all Greens Enthusiasts!

Fondy Farmers Market is hosting its 6th Annual Greens Throw-down on Saturday, July 20. If you're serious about greens, you know that Fondy farmers grow more than 23 varieties and Milwaukeeans of every culture and ethnicity come from all over the city to buy them. This cooking contest celebrates Fondy's number one seller and most beloved vegetable. For a sneak peek, view footage from the 2nd Annual Greens Throw-down.

Contestants purchase the freshest greens money can buy at Fondy, and then prepare them on-site from 8am - 11am at Fondy Farmers Market. First place prize is $150 and the One-of-a-Kind Blue Ribbon Apron; second place prize is $100 and the One-of-a-Kind Runner-up Apron.

Space is limited, so be sure to enter soon! Please click on the following links for more information: Greens Rules Manual, Greens Contestant Application, Cooking at the Market Tip Sheet, Greens Flyer. Or, contact Young Kim at or 414-562-2282 to register and for more information.

Haymarket Days: Celebrating 96 Years of Eating Local  -   Saturday, September 7

Fondy celebrates the 96-year history of its farmers market on Milwaukee's North Side, and the legacy of eating local in the city. Join us for a fun-filled day of activities for all ages.

Fondy began as the old Center Street Haymarket on 29th and Center in 1917 and moved to its present location on 22nd and Fond du Lac in 1980. Many long-time customers still fondly refer to it as "The Haymarket." The festival is a celebration of the history and culinary traditions of Fondy's culturally diverse shoppers and farmers.

Haymarket Days revives several county fair traditions. Cooking demonstrations at Fondy's famous Seasonal Soul tent take place from 10am - noon. Stay tuned as more events are announced. 

Haymarket Days takes place Saturday, September 7th from 9am - 1pm at Fondy Farmers Market. The event takes place rain or shine. The market is open 7am - 3pm.

PumpkinFest - Saturday, October 26 4 pm-7 pm

Fondy's newest event is a celebration of all things pumpkin!  Fondy shoppers will have an opportunity earlier in the day to create amazing jack-o-lanterns that will later be displayed, along with jack-o-lanterns by local artists, inside the Market for a magical display.  Prizes will be awarded to the top jack-o-lanterns.  PumpkinFest will also feature story-telling, music, and light snacks.  All events are free and open to the public.  The event takes place rain or shine.   

History

The market has been around for 96 years. In 1917, the (now defunct) Milwaukee Chair Co., 3032 W. Center St. donated a parcel of land on 30th & Center St. to the City of Milwaukee for a new green market. The company's primary motivation was to give employees an opportunity to buy fresh produce directly from local farmers. The company also built wood shelters for the market.

Two years later, in 1919, the City expanded the market to the eastern half of the market site (to 29th St.) and built additional wood shelters and sheds. The market - known as the "Center St. Haymarket" - was an immediate success. The Center St. Haymarket was managed by the Milwaukee Health Department's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

In 1980, the City closed the Center St. Haymarket at the end of its season, razing the wood shelters. The market was relocated to its current site at 2200 W. Fond du Lac Avenue in 1980. Many of Fondy Farmers Market customers still call the market "the Haymarket." 

From 1980 until the mid-1990s, the City managed the farmers market.  However, in the mid-1990s, the City got out of the "market management" business and turned over market operations to a loose confederation of farmers called the Fondy Farmers Coop.  In 2001, the not-for profit Fondy Food Center took over management of the market and we have done so ever since.

Philosophy

The market’s fundamental purpose is to provide the community with a place to buy fresh produce directly from local producers in a congenial atmosphere and to provide producers with a direct market for their goods. Fondy also strives to educate the public about regional, sustainable agriculture and the importance of and the how-to’s of eating local food. Fondy Food Center believes that small family farms are an essential component to growing a socially just, economically viable and environmentally sustainable local food systems. In sponsoring the farmers’ market, Fondy wishes to support small entrepreneurs and stimulate the local economy. We are committed to making educational and economic connections between urban residents and local farmers.

Values

• We appreciate and support our growers who sell directly to you, our customers.
• We support local and regional sustainable agriculture.
• We value the community which we are a part of and strive to give back to its families and citizens.
• We believe that families sitting down together to enjoy a meal made from scratch can transform whole communities.
• We promote and support the culinary arts and believe everyone can and should have some cooking skills.
• We believe that access to affordable wholesome food is a right.
• We believe that sustainably managed family farms are the foundation of healthy people and a healthy planet.
• We celebrate the rich and diverse cultural foodways represented by all of those nationalities, races and ethnicities that sell and shop at the market.

Products

Fondy's bustling Saturday market hosts 30 regular vendors in high season (late July - late September), including about 20 farmers. Products include: fresh, high-quality, locally grown, affordable produce grown to suit the tastes of all who shop here; prepared foods from an array of vendors, including Corn Man, Egg Roll Lady, Vi Nai Café, and freshly cooked on-site mini-donuts and coffee; artisanal breads, pastries, and pies; honey, spices, and other specialty products. For more details, please view our complete vendor list. 

Fondy is also open Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays for the serious produce shopper, who will find about 12 farmers present during high season (late July - late September), and a smaller cluster of farmers in late June, early July, and October, weather willing.

Want to know what's in season when? Check out Fondy's Seasonal Food Guide. Please note that as all Fondy produce is locally grown by Fondy farmers, availability ultimately depends upon how the weather cooperates. For weekly produce updates sent to your email inbox, be sure to sign up for The Fondy Beet enewsletter. Or, feel free to call ahead before your visit to make sure we have what you need: 414-933-8121 (market); 414-562-2282 (office).

Cooking Demos

Seasonal Soul: A Celebration of Milwaukee's Food Traditions is a live cooking demonstration workshop, held on Saturdays 10am-noon at the farmers market. This energetic and interactive program introduces new fruits and vegetables to market customers, shows how to incorporate the fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables available at Fondy Farmers Market into delicious, easy-to-prepare recipes that reflect the cultural and culinary diversity of Fondy shoppers and Milwaukee. You can watch Taste the Season episodes on Vimeo and download our recipes. (Prior to 2013, our cooking demo was called Taste the Season.)

There are five series within Seasonal Soul. Mark your calendar for your favorite Seasonal Soul "focus!"  

• First Saturdays:  Community Cooks (July 6, Aug. 3, Sept. 7, and Oct. 5)
• Second Saturdays: Quick & Easy Family-Friendly Meals: July 13, Aug. 10, Sept. 14, and Oct. 12)
• Third Saturdays: New Soul Cooking (July 20, Aug. 17, Sept. 21, and Oct. 19)
• Fourth Saturdays: Raw Foods & Juicing (July 27, Aug. 24, Sept. 28, and Oct. 26)
• Fifth Saturdays: Ethnic Food (June 29, Aug. 31)

Family Activities

The Family Activity Booth (formerly Youth Booth) has been redesigned to be fun for shoppers of all ages, kids from 1-99!  Family Activity Booth (or FAB for FABulous!) connects kids, families, and shoppers of all ages to the fresh, seasonal produce grown by Fondy farmers through fun, interactive activities that incorporate the arts, fitness, music, and performance art. FAB takes place every Saturday between June 29 and October 26, 9 am-noon.  We recruit arts and fitness instructors from local community organizations and businesses that specialize in arts, fitness, and music.

There are five series within FAB.

• First Saturdays: Art (July 6, Aug. 3, Sept. 7, and Oct. 5)
• Second Saturdays: Fitness (July 13, Aug. 10, Sept. 14, and Oct. 12)
• Third Saturdays: Music (July 20, Aug. 17, Sept. 21, and Oct. 19)
• Fourth Saturdays: Crafts (July 27, Aug. 24, Sept. 28, and Oct. 26)
• Fifth Saturdays: Performance Arts (June 29, Aug. 31)