P’ville Primed to Introduce New Indoor Market Next Weekend

The Pleasantville Farmers Market is set to enter a new era.

Starting this weekend, the village will hold its first indoor market at the Pleasantville Middle School cafeteria every Saturday through May 11.

It also marks the first time after 15 years that the village will run its own market under the auspices of a nonprofit organization, Foodchester, Inc., that was officially formed in early fall to oversee operations.

Frequent visitors will recognize some of the same vendors that have been seen in the outdoor market that was run by Community Markets of Ossining, which concluded its 2012 season a few weeks ago. Along with some new vendors–such as the North Winds Lavender Farm in Pawling and Hudson River Apiaries in Verplanck–there will be an emphasis on a “Pleasantville-centric” enterprise that can be tailored to the village’s mission and patrons’ requests, not a cookie-cutter market that could be placed anywhere in Westchester, said Peter Rogovin, Foodchester’s president and chairman of the board.

“The mission of the market hasn’t changed…we want to put the farm feel back into the farmers market,” Rogovin said. “We want to make it seem like a drive into the Hudson Valley, not to Dean & DeLuca.”

That means making sure that many of the market’s vendors are local or regional farmers, not just outfits that sell artisanal products, he said. Close to 35 vendors have signed on to participate, some on a weekly basis, others as part of a rotation. In all, there’s space for about 25 vendors each week. The only category that isn’t included in the winter market is wine and spirits since that is prohibited to be sold on school grounds.

Organizers hired Steve Bates, who for seven years ran the successful Cold Spring indoor and outdoor markets in Putnam County, to be in charge of the Pleasantville market’s operations. It will also become a nearly continuous year-round market. Rogovin said it will take off on May 18 for the annual Pleasantville Day celebration and resume outside on Saturdays in its customary location downtown during the Memorial Day weekend. Current plans call for the outdoor market to end the week before Thanksgiving, take the holiday weekend off before returning indoors in December.

Board Vice Chairman Stuart Vance said the nonprofit status of Foodchester, Inc., which was necessary to operate in the public school, also means the revenues mainly from vendor fees and a few sponsorships will go to reimburse the village and the Pleasantville School District for any costs to operate, along with an advertising and promotion budget. A key goal was to make sure the market paid for itself.

“We want to make it so our market is purely for the benefit of the community,” Vance said.

So far, reaction from vendors and the public has been strong. The regular outdoor vendors began to be notified in the summer of the likelihood of a winter market and it was received favorably, Rogovin said.

Of course, addressing all of the obstacles, from creating the nonprofit, to finding a venue, to handling insurance along with many other details in a little more than two months was a formidable challenge. However, the organization’s board was determined to launch the indoor market as soon as the holiday season was over.

“We had the curtain going up on Jan. 5 so everything had to happen,” Rogovin said.

Agreeing to a working arrangement with the school district also had to be reached, he said. District officials were helpful but there were issues that had to be ironed out, such as how to handle conflicting events and parking.

Pleasantville Mayor Peter Scherer said the feedback from around the village for the indoor market has been nothing but positive. Having a year-round market will continue to make Pleasantville a sought after destination.

“It’s not only an opportunity for the village but it’s an opportunity for the school district as well,” Scherer said.

Rogovin said the Foodchester board is appreciative of the district’s efforts to open the middle school, one of the few venues that could host the indoor market. That could also forge additional educational opportunities.

For Pleasantville, which has boasted one of the busiest outdoor markets in the county with attendance reaching upwards of 2,500 a week on some days, the demand certainly was there. Plus about 45 percent of the outdoor market visitors come from outside the village, surveys have revealed.

“We’re a village market and we’re a destination market,” Rogovin said.

Sponsors for the indoor market are Phelps Memorial Hospital Center, The Gym and Green Mountain Energy.

For more information on the market and its vendors, visit www.pleasantvillefarmersmarket.org.