Started in 1987 by a handful of farmers and artisans in Medford on Bartlett and Main Streets, the market expanded in 1991 to under the Water Street bridge in Ashland. The Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market was an early participant in the renaissance of growers markets in America. With the enthusiastic support of the valley community we have grown to over 100 vendors and we host four markets per week — March through November in Ashland and Medford — offering the finest in locally grown produce, plants and flowers, along with specialty foods, cheese, meat, baked goods, wine, ice cream, and hand-made arts and crafts. You can also find a delicious lunch – everything from Portuguese, Greek, Japanese, and Middle Eastern cuisine to bagels, sandwiches, and tamales! Vendors are juried to ensure quality and that all items are grown, prepared, or crafted locally by the vendor.

Of course, our large markets require managers to organize the placement of booths and orchestrate the flow of vendors during set-up and break-down of their sales areas. After the starting bell they are present in the market booth to answer your questions or convert credit, debit, or Oregon Trail cards into tokens accepted by the vendors. We are fortunate to have charming, dedicated, and hard working managers ready to help. By amazing coincidence they share the same birthday on the Vernal equinox and bring all that wonderful energy to their work.

 

Mary Ellen De Luca moved from Boston to the Rogue Valley with her family in 1995 and a dream came true when they settled in Talent on a five-acre farm where raising children and milk goats became their new way of life.  Mary Ellen has managed the Tuesday & Thursday markets of southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market since 2005 and has been an Oregon Farmers Market Association board member since 2007 and was recently elected treasurer for a three-year term. She enjoys every aspect of working with people and feels honored to be a Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market manager and serve on a board that promotes Oregon’s farmers’ markets and local economies.

Heidi Dawn lives with her family on three acres and keeps a small farm including fruit trees, a large garden, dairy goats and poultry. She has primarily been a homemaker and raising food for her family has been a big part of that. Before settling in Oregon, her longtime passion for farms and growing food led her to meet farmers at markets on the East Coast and then to working on their farms. Her favorite thing to see at the market is kids munching on fresh produce as they stroll with their families. She began as the Saturday Market Manager in the 2010 season and looks forward to bringing the market to a permanent site downtown. She would like to see more folks doing the bulk of their grocery shopping at the market, not just picking up specialty items. It’s economical, fresher, and it tastes better!!

Aiyana Green‘s love of the natural world led her to farming, but her love of people led her to farmers markets. When not managing the Medford Saturday market, she is generally found growing produce and flowers at a rustic retreat center, where she lives with her banjo-playing husband. Aiyana also spends time assisting other farmers, instructing wilderness first aid courses, and admiring the antics of her forty-eight laying hens. A native Oregonian, she feels most at home among the ponderosa pine, madrone, and oak hills of the Rogue Valley. Aiyana is proud to help build community, support local and sustainable agriculture, and provide opportunity for small family businesses through farmers markets.

Be sure to follow market happenings, hear about upcoming events and demos by local chefs, or get a few cooking tips on our homepage blog written by Susan Powell. Susan lived off the grid on a remote homestead for over a decade where she gardened, learned about canning and preserving, and taught in a one room school. She lived in Ashland for many years where she was the chef/owner of a restaurant, Pilaf, and had a production kitchen for catering and for her Global Pantry and Oregranola products. She now lives in Talent where she gardens and tends a small flock of chickens and geese.

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We invite you to visit our markets and partake of the bounty yielded by our Mediterranean climate through our dedicated farmers.