REEDLEY – As the fall season begins to make its way to the Valley, residents can look forward to a new way to spend their Saturday evenings.
The city of Reedley has announced the first wave of themes for the weekly farmers markets coming to Pioneer Park, which are being done in partnership with the California Fresh Farmers Market Association and Sierra Kings Health Care District. Each market will run from 5-9 p.m., with the kickoff “Central California Taco Festival” event taking place on Oct. 10.
Since 1999, CFFMA has been organizing community events in Fresno like the River Park and Woodward Farmers Markets, and the nonprofit is excited to bring an event of that caliber to another community.
“The city of Reedley has been amazing, and everything finally fell into place,” said Matt Kachadoorian, senior event coordinator for CFFMA, in an interview. “It’s something we’ve been looking at doing for at least a few years now, so it’s really exciting.”
According to the organization’s mission statement, the goal of CFFMA markets is to make locally grown food accessible to communities while supporting local farmers and businesses. To keep in line with this mission, Kachaddorian explained that CFFMA fills out each event through its growing network of growers, producers, bakers, crafters and artisans from around the region.
With these new Reedley markets, Kachadoorian said the organization will be further narrowing its focus by gathering vendors and growers from the city and its surrounding communities.
Part of what keeps the Fresno markets fresh week-to-week are the unique themes of each event, which can bring novel food items, festive decorations and even appearances from popular characters. The Reedley markets will be no different, with currently announced themes including:
- “Central California Taco Festival” on Oct. 10
- “Happiest Place on Earth: Spooktacular” on Oct. 17
- “Blockbuster Bites” on Oct. 24
- “Halloween Harvest Farmers Market” on Oct. 31, which will see an appearance from the Ghostbusters’ Ectomobile
- “Asian Night Market” on Nov. 7
- “Reedley Pickle Festival” on Nov. 14
- “Reedley Garlic Festival” on Nov. 21
- “Flamin’ Hot: A Cheeto Dusted Food Festival” on Nov. 28
For the taco festival, Kachadoorian said attendees will be able to patronize an array of taco trucks from throughout the state that have competed in, or even won, various competitions. The day will also see some live music, and other activities that Kachadoorian said are still in the works.
Community members can check the city of Reedley’s various social media accounts, as well as CFFMA’s pages, to stay up-to-date on future themes as the market develops over the next year.
Alongside its work to provide residents with healthier purchasing options, CFFMA also aims to reduce food waste through its Fresh Rescue Program. After each event, organizers collect surplus produce, baked goods and other food products that would otherwise go to waste, which are then donated to local missions.
While the surplus from the Fresno Markets are usually donated to the Fresno Mission, Kachadoorian said the CFFMA is currently seeking out a Reedley-based organization to partner with.
Reflecting on CCFMA’s more than two decades of building community in Fresno, Kachadoorian expressed excitement over the community of Reedley seeing what the organization can bring to the city.
“There hasn’t really been something like the River Park market in Reedley yet, so that’s kind of what we’re hoping to strive for — a really big event with lots of local vendors, lots of great food and a lot of fun for the families,” Kachadoorian said. “We just want to be able to support the local farmers, crafters, bakers and so on.”
