MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — The Manitowoc Farmer's Market is a fan favorite around town. It is held downtown, across from the library, on the river, every Saturday. In a current vote it ranks fourth in the state and top 100 in the nation. But what makes this farmers market so special?
Gordy Wilker has been a vendor at the market for years.
"A lot of it is grown here in Manitowoc," Wilker says. "I all started with just merely selling eggs. I sell a lot of eggs."
Gordy goes the name "Papa Dirty" at the farmer's market, where he sells vegetables as well.
"A lot of people don't want to take a ride out into the country, or they don't know where to go, so we bring those things to them," he explains. "The city of Manitowoc really went out of the way to really make this a success. Every year it seems like we get more and more vendors, which is good."
A quality of the market that is echoed by the market's manager, Christine Wendell.
"We have such a variety of vendors, over 60 vendors," Wendell said.
She says the Manitowoc Farmers Market stands out because of the atmosphere and the traffic of travelers on their way to Green Bay and Door County.
"We get so much feed back from them saying how much they love our market, how large it is, how friendly our vendors are, and how fresh their fruits and baked goods are," said Wendell.
It's that quality of the products that Gordy takes so much pride in.
"Watching these people come and buying the things that you've grown, it gives you that feeling of 'Yeah, I did OK. The people like it'," Gordy said.
The Manitowoc Farmers Market will continue to run through October 28.
