Submitted by Gig Harbor Downtown Waterfront Alliance
Under the auspices of The Gig Harbor Downtown Waterfront Alliance, the new community-based “Waterfront Farmers Market” is coming to Skansie Brothers Park in Gig Harbor. With a mission to create a vibrant forum that connects community residents and food producers and a vision to return the “farm” to the farmers market, the alliance is excited about the opportunity to support local agriculture and provide fresh food access to everyone.
Alliance Board President, Pat Schmidt, says, “With the Waterfront Farmers Market being held in conjunction with our Thursday Night Out event, we are helping to create great synergy and even more reasons to come to the downtown waterfront and shop local.” Schmidt went on to say that, “Our newly hired Market Manager, Mrs. Kathleen Rose, is deeply passionate about agriculture, sustainability and community. She is a perfect fit for our organization and will help us in our efforts to promote shopping locally.”
With over 20 years of experience in healthcare, sales and strategic planning, Kathleen left her career to expand her outreach work in support of farmers and fresh food access. She and her husband have many years of experience as farmer market vendors, FreshFoodRevolution Co-op producers, and coordinating outreach programs in our local schools and at their farm. As a certified Master Gardener, Kathleen is also a WSU Kitsap extension volunteer and a member of the Master Gardener Foundation, the Olalla Giving Garden and the Peninsula Fruit Club. She is also a member of the WSFMA and is active in local and national agriculture advocacy programs and legislation including the American Farmland Trust and Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Kathleen holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Washington and is committed to making this new market model work for the Gig Harbor community.
The New Waterfront Farmers Market is scheduled to open in June and will operate weekly in conjunction with Thursday Night Out from 3:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. throughout the summer months. If you would like to inquire about becoming a vendor and access the application, contact Kathleen Rose at 253-355-0603 or roseorchards@comcast.net.
