Westborough Farmers' Market Season Ends

The Westborough Farmers' Market ended for the season Thursday, and "I think everybody's fairly happy with how they did" this summer, said Dave McMahon, one of the organizers.

The market's third season included about 30 vendors total on the Congregrational Church of Westborough's lawn, McMahon said.

The season started in June. 

"We had everything here from brownies to local jewelers, and people who sell their own spices, all from the local area," McMahon said.

"It's a nice opportunity for the whole town to gather." 

The market had "additional benefits for the town," McMahon said.A survey by the organizers showed that the market drew from Westborough, Grafton, Upton, Southborough, Shrewsbury and Northborough, he said.

"It's a good economic opportunity for the town," he said.

The lessons from this year's market, McMahon said, include to "keep the core group of vendors we have, to keep reaching out to let people know about the market, to look to diversify next year -- to bring some new, high-end gourmet food providers in. I think we'll be looking at things like poultry, and maybe adding dairy products to the mix."

Pedestrian safety is an issue at that intersection, Police placed an orange cone in the crosswalk this summer during the market at the board of selectmen's request, toward encouraging motorists to slow down there.

"I think this intersection is a tough one, regardless of whether the market's here or not,"McMahon said, adding that market organizers plan to meet with town officials "and say, 'What can we do as a market? What can we do together to make sure that there's safety here,' whether that's assigning someone from the market to look after traffic issues, or the flag idea that the selectmen have. We'd be supportive of any of those options."