The Circle Pines-Lexington Farmers Market is not large, yet each vendor brings a unique ingredient to the table. As Circle Pines-Lexington Lions Club member Karen Gregory looped around the market recently, she explained that each vegetable vendor, baker and craft maker provides a different flavor.
“These people come every week, and look at the beautiful produce. They picked it this morning,” said Gregory, pointing to Vang’s Vegetable Farm. “This is their backyard and their livelihood.”
Turning around, Gregory pointed to Svihel Vegetable Farm, the market’s other vegetable vendor. “This vegetable farm, they have stands all over Minnesota. They go to Duluth … Buy from where you feel most comfortable, you know?”
As Gregory continued, she contrasted the market’s two main bakers, Kingdom Baking and Little Bit of Sunshine.
“When we opened, (Kingdom Baking) was new in town, and nobody knew Circle Pines had a bakery. It’s right on Sunset,” Gregory said. “Last week, they sold out all of their breads, and most times, they sell out of their baguettes.”
Little Bit of Sunshine, meanwhile, makes all of her products without wheat, gluten, dairy or eggs.
“For people who have extensive food allergies, there’s just not a lot out there,” said Little Bit of Sunshine’s owner, Alicia Theisen. “People go to weddings, but they can’t have the wedding cake. In the office, people bring in donuts, and you’re just—you’re really left out of that … it’s such an emotional thing tied to big events.”
Theisen believes providing a little bit of sunshine, the little bit of inclusion her customers receive, is her ministry.
Moving along, Gregory highlighted Judy Cin’s maple syrup, tapped from trees in Blaine and fused with distinct flavors like blueberry, jalapeño and bourbon. Cin and her son originally created and infused her maple syrup as a hobby, but word began to spread.
“People started wanting it, and so we thought,
‘Ah, a farmers market,’ because it’s local, it’s not all the time and it’s nice to be in the community,” Cin said.
As Gregory passed a vendor who made gourds into birdhouses and a tent run by women who make jewelry, she explained that the Lions Club donates its proceeds to the local food shelf.
Back at the front, Gregory helped visitors from Northwoods Memory Care back on to the bus.
“Our people have encountered a lot of kindness from the community members … and the vendors,” said Northwoods Memory Care Life Enrichment Director Alissa Pringle. “It’s a feather in their cap, I think, that my people feel so loved when they’re here.”
Finally, at the Lions Club tent, Gregory stated the reason why she believes the Circle Pines-Lexington Farmers Market is essential: “You support the local neighbors.”
The Circle Pines-Lexington Farmers Market is held from 2:30-6:30 p.m. every Wednesday through the end of September at 9271 S. Highway Drive, Lexington.
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