Antietam Valley Farmers Market

The Antietam Valley Farmers and Artists Market, commonly abbreviated AVFAM, is a community market held at the Antietam Valley Recreation & Community Center in Carsonia Park, located at 905 Byram Street in the Pennside section of Reading, Pennsylvania. The market was established to bring locally grown farm products and handmade artisan goods directly to residents of the Antietam Valley, an established residential community of roughly 9,000 people, while giving area farmers, bakers, makers and small food businesses a direct sales outlet close to home.

Rather than functioning purely as a retail event, the market operates as a neighborhood gathering. Vendors set up alongside community information tables, live musicians perform, and families use the evening as a place to eat dinner, catch up with neighbors and shop for the week ahead.

Hours, Season and Location

The market runs on Monday evenings from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, generally on the first and third Monday of each month from May through December, for a total of 15 market dates across the season. It operates rain or shine. The site includes an off-street parking lot, and additional street parking is available nearby in the surrounding residential neighborhood. Carsonia Park, the site of a historic amusement park in Lower Alsace and Mount Penn area history, places the market at a recognizable central point in the valley, which makes it easy to find for first-time visitors coming from Reading, Mount Penn, Pennside, St. Lawrence and neighboring communities.

The Monday Market Mingle

The market's evening format is presented as the Monday Market Mingle. Visitors browse vendor stands, sample products, purchase dinner and dessert to eat on site, stop by community tables and support young entrepreneurs who sell alongside the adult vendors. Live music from area performers is a regular feature and is free to attend. Past performers have included Jakob Wiswesser, a teenage bluegrass banjo player with the Long Acre Hollow Bluegrass Band, as well as The Blue Marsh Ramblers.

What Vendors Sell

Approved product categories include fruits, vegetables, flowers, dairy products, meats and animal products, baked goods, prepared foods, live plants, crafts and other items cleared by market management. Market rules require that produce sold be at least 80 percent grown by the farmer selling it, which keeps the emphasis on local agriculture rather than resale.

Participating vendors over recent seasons have included:

• Backyard Fresh, offering in-season vegetables and fresh cut flowers raised using sustainable, chemical-free growing practices.
• The Bee Bandits, selling pure raw honey in sizes from 2 ounce jars up to 5 pound containers, with the smaller jars often purchased as baby shower and wedding favors. The stand also carries whipped honey in original, cinnamon, blueberry and strawberry, chili-oil infused hot honey, 100 percent beeswax candles and lip balm.
• Conebella Farm Cheese, a farmstead dairy bringing aged cheeses, fresh mozzarella, cheese curds, Greek yogurt, nine flavors of yogurt smoothies including a seasonal pumpkin, cheese spreads, cultured butter and premium ice cream. Preorders are accepted for market pickup.
• Petite Pastries, a licensed micro bakery run by a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America's Baking and Pastry Arts program, using organic unbleached flour and farm-fresh free-range eggs.
• Little Sister's Pantry, with sourdough loaves, cookies, donuts and a range of vegan, gluten-friendly and allergy-friendly options.
• Red Barn Bakes, known for granola blends including the seasonal Gather Blend made with pumpkin, warm chai spices and tart cranberries, and the savory lemony-basil Herb ZEN granola, sold in 11 ounce bags, along with limited quantities of meadow tea.
• Kevin's Crazy Kitchen Pickles, a specialty pickle maker that has received national recognition for crunch, flavor and unusual varieties.
• Lily's Vineyard, pouring dry and sweet apple, spiced apple, blueberry, cherry, peach and pear wines.
• Sleepy Cat Urban Winery, with releases such as Cutie Pie Apple, made from 100 percent apple, and Scaredy Cat, made from 100 percent blood orange.
• Schaeffer Catering, LLC, in business seven years, serving specialty grilled cheese sandwiches, fresh cut fries and non-traditional homemade eggrolls in a rotating list of flavors. The company also caters retirements, birthdays and weddings with custom menus, and can be reached at schaeffercatering@yahoo.com or 484-955-1970.
• Midnight Mist, offering bath and body products plus rotating one-of-a-kind wire Tree of Life sculptures, crystal suncatchers and Nature Bottles, with a different selection at each market.
• Thrifted Sisters Candle Co., which hand-pours 100 percent soy wax into vintage and antique glass vessels, many containing real crystals so the container can be reused once the candle has burned down.
• Red Roof Designs, selling engraved charcuterie boards, tumblers and wooden utensils along with sewn goods and hand painted cards.
• Rooted Joy Plants & Pets, a family-owned grower offering organic cat grass and catnip, an Organic Cat Grass Seed Mix, cat enrichment items, all-natural bird suet and a growing line of dog products.
• Ray's Balloons, which sets up a tent where a balloon artist makes creations for children attending the market.

Community Partnerships

The Antietam Valley Community Partnership (AVCP) hosts a community table at the market with information about local events, including the Carsonia Craft Beer and Wine Amusement. Local nonprofit organizations are welcome to reserve community table space, with each group permitted to attend up to two markets per season. This arrangement keeps space available for a variety of civic groups over the course of the year.

Information for Prospective Vendors

Vendor spaces measure 10 by 10 feet and are assigned by Market Manager Corinne Hauk, with returning vendors given priority on placement. Three participation levels are offered:

Walk-on vendors are not permitted, so all participation must be arranged in advance.

Vendor fees include marketing support. Participating businesses receive a logo and contact listing, inclusion in a weekly email newsletter that reaches a mailing list of more than 2,500 names and often features vendor specials, weekly Facebook and Instagram posts, and coverage through local advertising and press releases.

Planning a Visit

Shoppers should plan for a two hour window on market Mondays and can expect a mix of groceries, prepared dinner options, desserts, beverages, plants and handmade goods. Because several vendors rotate their offerings and some sell limited seasonal items, selection varies from date to date. Current schedules, vendor lineups and application materials are posted by the market.