Black Mountain Tailgate Market celebrates National Farmers Market Week
Local organization joins others across the country to commemorate area growers
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
August 8, 2025
The Black Mountain Tailgate Market, a local nonprofit organization established in 1994, will celebrate National Farmers Week, Aug. 9. The event will feature games, raffles and activities for children. Courtesy photo
A weekly seasonal gathering of local growers, artisans and community organization is joining a nationwide celebration from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Aug. 9, when the Black Mountain Tailgate Market commemorates National Farmers Market Week.
The free family-friendly event will include games, raffles, contests and culinary demonstrations, allowing marketgoers to meet the farmers who produce locally raised meats, vegetables, breads and handcrafted goods.
National Farmers Market Week is an annual celebration of farmers markets established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and coordinated by the Farmers Market Coalition (FMC), a membership-based nonprofit organization that supports farmers markets nationwide through training, technical assistance and network-building. Each year, the campaign highlights the vital role farmers markets play within our nation’s local food systems. For more than 50 years, farmers markets have influenced the way Americans eat and shop, as well as connect to their food, farmers, and one another. Farmers markets are more than just market places – they are places where neighbors learn, grow, and work together.
The BMTM was founded in 1994 and currently hosts a vibrant lineup of local authors, artists, food producers and over 20 farmers whose bounty includes a wide variety of products, including cheese, naturally grown and certified organic produce, sustainably and humanely raised meats, seasonal fruit, flowers and perennial and annual plants. This year, the market offers robust music programming, engaging multi-sensory activities for youth of all ages, a series of “Harvest Festivals,” a rotating lineup of over 90 local farmers, artisans, makers and artists, as well as fellow nonprofit organizations like Manna Food Bank, Appalachian Community Relief, and the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP).
Located blacks from Black Mountain Town Square, at 130 Montreat Road, in a green space beneath the shade of oaks and maple trees, BMTM welcomes an estimated 1,500 attendees each week. The organization participates in critical food access programs like SNAP, ASAP’s Farm Fresh For Health project, the Healthy Opportunities Pilots and the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program. Organizers are currently cultivating an internal food assistance program, BMTM Market Bucks, which is funded by individual donations, sponsorships and the community established Farm & Rural Family Fund.
BMTM Board President Kiersten Hall is excited about the market’s 31st season.
“Our tailgate market is run by amazing staff and volunteers who strive to make this an unforgettable experience for both those visiting our little town and for those who faithfully patronize the market throughout the season,” she said. “Cultivating community is our strength.”
“Across the country, farmers markets are defining their role in our communities,” said Willa Sheikh, Executive Director of the Farmers Market Coalition. “Markets are designed in partnership with the people they serve and are a place where market operators, farmers, shoppers, and neighbors can collaborate to meet the evolving needs of their community. As we look to the future, farmers markets will play a key part, as they always have, in leading efforts to adapt, respond, innovate, and advocate for our local food systems. National Farmers Market Week is a chance to celebrate all the ways farmers markets show up for us!”
The BMTM is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization with a community-led board of directors. The mission of the market is to provide inclusive and engaging educational programming centered around health, wellness, sustainability and nutrition; to promote food equity through food access programs; to support local farms, artisans, and collaborating non-profit organizations through charitable donations and to provide a platform for farmers, food producers, and artisans to sell their products directly to consumers in a friendly, family-oriented environment.
For more information, visit www.BlackMountainMarket.org.