For twenty winters, while snow blankets southern Vermont and most outdoor markets sit dormant, the Brattleboro Winter Farmers’ Market has kept the connection between local farmers and their community alive.
This Saturday, February 28, the market celebrates two decades of what organizers call “nourishing our neighbors through the depths of Vermont winters.” The celebration happens throughout a typical market day at the Winston Prouty Campus gymnasium on Austine Drive — fitting, say organizers, to honor what they do while actually doing it.
A Market Born from Necessity
Twenty years ago, a group of local food advocates had a simple idea: What if farmers didn’t have to stop selling — and neighbors didn’t have to stop buying — just because winter arrived?
On November 4, 2006, that idea became the Brattleboro Winter Farmers’ Market.
The first location was the River Garden, right in the heart of downtown Brattleboro. For twelve years, vendors and customers gathered there weekly, building relationships that went beyond transactions. Farmers learned which families wanted kale every week. Customers learned which baker’s sourdough they couldn’t live without.
Moving, Growing, Surviving
In 2018, the market recognized it needed room to grow — and better parking. The move to 80 Flat Street turned out to be fortuitous timing. When the pandemic hit, the larger space allowed for social distancing and safer operations. The market never closed.
Now in its fourth year at the Winston Prouty Campus gymnasium on Austine Drive, the market has found a home with space to spread out, easy access, and a community that keeps showing up.
More Than a Market
The Brattleboro Winter Farmers’ Market serves a wide region — Windham County, the southern reaches of Windsor County, plus Cheshire and Franklin counties spilling over from New Hampshire and Massachusetts. It’s the only regular weekly farmers market operating through Vermont’s harshest months in this area.
But the mission goes beyond convenience. The market maintains what organizers call “a very strong commitment to equitable food access.” Programs like their “Nourishing Our Neighbors” food fund help ensure that fresh, local food isn’t just available to those who can easily afford it.
The Celebration
This Saturday’s 20th season celebration won’t be a separate gala or evening event. True to the market’s practical nature, it happens during a regular market day — “fitting as a way to celebrate what we do while we are doing it.”
Live music fills the gymnasium throughout the morning, as usual. At noon, the music pauses and organizers take the microphone. A few words, some special guests, and an invitation for friends, former vendors, and longtime customers to share in the moment.
No fancy tickets. No reserved seating. Just the community that built this market, gathering to acknowledge twenty winters of showing up for each other.
If You Go
What: Brattleboro Winter Farmers’ Market 20th Season Celebration
When: Saturday, February 28, 2026 — Market runs 10am–2pm, celebration at noon
Where: Winston Prouty Campus, 60 Austine Dr., Brattleboro
Cost: Free to attend
Info: farmersmarket@postoilsolutions.org
The Brattleboro Winter Farmers’ Market operates every Saturday from 10am to 2pm, November through March, at the Winston Prouty Campus gymnasium, 60 Austine Drive in Brattleboro. The market is a project of Post Oil Solutions, a community grassroots organization focused on sustainability and resilient communities.
