Naper Settlement is launching an all-new farmers market this year that will feature a variety of specially selected vendors and a unique, informative twist in line with the history museum’s educational mission.
Starting in late June, the inaugural market will take over the Settlement’s 13-acre site from 3 to 7 p.m. every Tuesday through September, according to museum staff.
It will have the usual slate of produce, coffee, flowers, cheese and other vendors — all the staples of a good summer market, says Brittany Tepper, director of marketing. But it will also feature educational demonstrations led by museum staff and guests on topics varying from week to week, she said.
The demonstrations will be agriculture-based and tied in to the Settlement’s newly-opened Mary and Richard Benck Family Agriculture Center.
“We wanted a new way to connect the community to Naperville ag history,” Tepper said. “We just opened up the Benck Family Agriculture Center (where) we’re telling Naperville’s ag history. This was a unique way to connect it.”
The market also “will be a great way to introduce people to the Naper Settlement experience who may have not been here in a while or may not have come,” she said.
Market visitors will recieve free admission to the Settlement.
“They’ll kind of get a taste of everything that we offer,” Tepper said, “from the museum side to our new step forward with (Naperville agriculture) and telling that history here.”
The farmers market idea has been in the works for more than a year, she said. Settlement staff are currently in the process of selecting vendors.
The Naper Settlement Museum Board will receive a “Farmers Market update” at its Friday morning meeting, according to an agenda posted online. A brochure inviting market sponsorship opportunities is linked to the agenda and advertises vendors with “a diverse offering of products that are fair-trade, mission-based, and/or sustainably produced.”
Tepper said its not yet known how many vendors will be part of the market. More information will be forthcoming and an announcement with vendor names, live music lineups and demonstration details is to be released in May.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” she said.
Naper Settlement’s soon-to-be farmers market will widen Naperville’s roster of outdoor markets which, as of late, has been meager compared to years past.
Prior to 2020, the city had three markets going through the summer months: the Naperville Farmers Market on Fifth Avenue on Saturdays; the 95th Street Farmers Market co-hosted by the Naperville Park District and Naperville Public Library on Thursdays; and the St. John’s Farmers Market run by the St. John’s Episcopal Church on Wednesdays.
St. John’s ended theirs in 2019 and while the 95th Street market survived the COVID pandemic through 2022, it did not return last year and won’t be returning in 2024. Angelique Harshman with the Naperville Park District confirmed in an email that they will “no longer be offering a 95th St. farmers market.”
The Fifth Street event was the only one left standing last summer. But with the addition of Naper Settlement’s, local residents will again have a weekday market to peruse.
“I think that … (this will be) a great community event,” Tepper said. “Something for people to look forward to each week on a Tuesday. You know, there’s not a whole heck of a lot going on Tuesdays, so I think this is a great way to bring the community out and to experience something together.”
