Somewhere between opening day on April 25 and our upcoming season finale on October 17, an entire farmers market season absolutely flew by.
And what a season it has been.
We opened our gates in the spring with a full calendar ahead of us, a lot of big ideas, and probably more optimism than common sense.
Now, after nearly six months of Saturday mornings — with only Independence Day off — we’re looking back at a season full of new vendors, familiar faces, community support, big events, little moments, and more than a few things we never could have predicted back in April.
The People Who Keep Showing Up
We have averaged around 20 vendors each week this season, with plenty of new businesses joining us along the way.
Some came for a few Saturdays. Some tested the waters for the first time. Some have grown right alongside the market.
And then there is the crew that has simply kept showing up.
Thornal Custom Creations, Whisk and Wander Bakeshop, The Musubi Ladies, Twilight Tradition Candles, Wendorf Family Bakery, Mason’s Dough and Co., Just the Coffee Cafe, and Dragon’s Hoard Coffee have become such familiar faces at the market this year.
I hesitate to even call them our “regulars,” because that somehow doesn’t quite capture it.
They load their vehicles, haul out tents and tables, battle South Carolina weather, cheer each other on, buy from one another, help when somebody needs an extra hand, and keep coming back Saturday after Saturday.
Somewhere along the way, this group of vendors started feeling less like a lineup and more like a little market family.
And they are certainly not the only vendors who have made this year special. Every grower, baker, maker, artist, food vendor and small business that spent a Saturday morning with us added something to the market.
We are so grateful for all of them.
Some Saturdays Were a Little Extra
Of course, we have never been particularly good at just having a normal farmers market.
We apparently need themes.
And activities.
And fundraisers.
And occasionally an entire jamboree.
Our Father’s Day Market was one of those special Saturdays, including a fundraiser for Evans Training Center and some incredible support from the guys at the Tyger River Fire Department’s Gap Creek station.
Throughout the season we’ve also had special markets centered around families, farms, makers, kids and the community — all leading us into a very busy October.
And somehow, while operating a farmers market, we also decided it would be a perfectly reasonable idea to organize our first 5K.
More than 270 people registered.
Two hundred and seventy.
For our FIRST ONE.
We are still trying to wrap our heads around that.
The Grow Lyman 5K has become one of the biggest surprises and proudest moments of our year, and seeing the community rally around it has been incredible.
Poppy the Pig making her first appearance at our market on September 26
And Then There Was Poppy
This was also the year Lyman Farmers Market officially got a mascot.
Meet Poppy the Pig.
What began as a character for the market somehow turned into a real-life pig making appearances at our events.
Because apparently once you name a cartoon pig and make her the face of your farmers market, the natural next step is finding an actual pig.
We don’t make the rules.
Poppy has quickly become one of the most fun parts of the market, especially for the kids, and we have a feeling she will be sticking around for quite a while.
We Started Telling More Local Stories
One of the things I am most excited about this year actually grew beyond the market itself.
We launched Local Lyman, our local newsletter, and it has already grown to more than 500 subscribers.
Five hundred people who want to know what is happening here.
Five hundred people interested in local businesses, local events, local stories and the people making this community what it is.
That means a lot.
The farmers market has always been about more than vegetables and baked goods. It is about creating reasons for people to come together, support one another and feel more connected to the place they call home.
Local Lyman has given us another way to do exactly that.
This Market Has Never Been a One-Person Effort
There are a lot of people who deserve recognition for what happened this season.
Our sponsors — Prisma Health, Lyman Vet, Johnson’s ACE Hardware, the Town of Lyman, Padgett Strategic Collaborative and D&D Motors, Inc. — have helped us turn ideas into actual events and continue growing what we are able to offer the community.
Mayor David Petty & I at the beginning of the market season.
Mayor David Petty has pulled strings, answered late phone calls, solved problems and accommodated more of our requests than he probably ever expected when this season began.
The Lyman First Baptist Church has supported us through the use of their parking lot, promoted our events on their sign, and welcomed us with a congregation that has consistently been encouraging and supportive.
Tiger River Fire Department Fire Marshal Stephen Carpenter before dunked him in a dunk tank for charity. Pictured alongside the guys from the Gap Creek station after they saved me from an unfortunate tent situation.
Stephen Carpenter, Fire Marshal for Tyger River Fire Department, has been an enormous help to us.
The firefighters at the Gap Creek station stepped up for our Father’s Day Market and helped make that event happen.
Chief Hayes and the Town of Lyman Police Department helped us secure the officers we needed to safely pull off our first Grow Lyman 5K.
Number one hype-man, Jamie Sanderson, AKA the Culinary Encourager
Jamie Sanderson, The Culinary Encourager, for promoting our vendors and market to his following and rallying to grow our page.
There are so many moving pieces behind events like these that the public never sees.
Having people in our corner who are willing to help us figure it all out has made an enormous difference.
And on a personal note, I have to thank my mother-in-law, Sharon Fisher, who has somehow managed to be our biggest customer, biggest supporter and biggest fan all at once.
Every small business needs someone who believes in what they’re doing before everyone else catches on.
She has absolutely been that person for me.
Local celebrity and friend, Carol Petty, picking up market produce
The Best Part Has Been Watching People Come Back
There are plenty of numbers we could use to measure this season.
Twenty vendors on an average Saturday.
More than 500 newsletter subscribers.
More than 270 5K registrations.
Months and months of markets.
But those are not really the moments I will remember.
I will remember families who came once and then became familiar faces.
Kids who knew exactly where they wanted to go as soon as they arrived.
Customers who learned vendors’ names.
Vendors who learned customers’ orders.
People lingering longer than they planned because they ran into someone they knew.
New businesses taking a chance on setting up their very first booth.
People sitting with coffee, buying bread for the week, carrying bags of produce and talking to their neighbors.
Those little things are what make a farmers market feel like a community instead of simply a place to shop.
And this year, more than ever, Lyman Farmers Market has felt like a community.
Lily from The Musubi Ladies proving that if you can’t pick your favorite flavor from Dragon’s Hoard Coffee, just get both!
We’re Not Quietly Packing Up the Tents
Of course, because quietly packing up the tents would be far too reasonable, we still have a little more chaos ahead.
But before we race into the next thing, I want to stop for just a second and say this:
Thank you.
Thank you for shopping.
Thank you for vending.
Thank you for sponsoring.
Thank you for sharing our posts.
Thank you for telling your friends.
Thank you for bringing your kids.
Thank you for coming back.
Thank you for giving a little farmers market a piece of your Saturday morning.
We have big dreams for where this market can go.
But 2026?
2026 was a pretty wonderful place to start.
And an absolute hoot and a half.
With Love,
Megan Fisher
