Athens Farmers Market season opens May 6
Published 10:49 am Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Justin Travis | The News Courier. The Craig Family Farm sells their produce at the farmers market under the updated pavilion in July 2024.
Tere Richardson, left, and Melinda Jones make free tomato sandwiches for guests at the farmers market Tuesday, July 9, 2024.
Kortnea Hinds, right, watches as Mason Haggard discovers the ingredients to a tomato sandwich at the Athens Farmers Market Tuesday, July 9, 2024. Whether used as a base for soups or simply sliced for a good old ‘mater sandwich, tomatoes are true summer favorites. To enjoy their goodness year-round, people can turn to the world of canning as a means of preservation.
Beginning in May, the Athens Farmers Market will be back and better than ever before with a new look at its familiar home at Doug Gates Park.
Freshly celebrating more than $800,000 in renovations at the park, the Athens Farmers Market kicks off its 2025 season on Tuesday, May 6. Presented by Dream Key Real Estate, the market will host a 3 p.m. public ribbon cutting to commemorate the start of a bountiful new growing season.
There’s no cost to attend the kickoff event, nor to pop in and browse the market during any of its open dates from May through late September. The May 6 ceremony marks the start of a five-month summertime span when the market will always be open on Tuesdays, while Saturday dates also will be added from June through the end of August.
Here are the open dates for this year’s Athens Farmers Market:
Tuesdays: May 6 through Aug. 26 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturdays: June 7 through Sept. 27 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Located at 409 W. Green Street in Athens, the market’s home at Doug Gates Park has seen significant upgrades thanks to a major recent refresh. In partnership with the Limestone County Commission (which owns the property), market organizer Athens Main Street helped steward the project with a new paint and a new roof at the park pavilion, alongside reworked landscaping that added new trees and indigenous local plants.
An expansion of the park’s entertainment pavilion also added more space for market vendors while also offering additional room for a whole slate of other uses when the market itself isn’t open. Coupled with the county commission’s recent facility upgrades (including handicap accessible restrooms, new vendor tables, large fans, and improved electrical service), the farmers market begins its 2025 season with much more to offer than ever before — both for customers and for the local growers who help sustain home-grown agriculture in Limestone County.
Find the Athens Farmers Market online at athensmainstreet.org/athens-farmers-market, and follow the latest market news and events on Facebook (just search the platform for “Athens Farmers Market.”) Interested in becoming a vendor? Learn more online at the above address, which includes additional links to a vendor application and a periodic market newsletter.
