Mathews Farmers’ Market, selling a variety of locally-sourced vegetables and florals, home-baked goods, and handmade items, opened on Saturday to balmy weather and a better-than-expected turnout.
New manager David Chrest said that because a number of the market’s usual vendors were at the annual Daffodil Festival in Gloucester, which also opened Saturday, not much was expected, but vendors showed up to sell and customers showed up to buy, so, all-in-all, it was a successful opening.
“It was smoother than anticipated, and a pretty fair turnout,” he said.
Chrest, whose business is Custom Pens of Middlesex, said he lived in Mathews for eight years and in Gloucester for six, but eventually put his roots down in Middlesex. This is his fourth year selling at the Mathews Farmers’ Market, and it’s become one of his favorite venues.
“Everything is manufactured, baked, or grown by the people selling,” he said. “You don’t find anything from China here. Unless a vendor happens to be Chinese.”
Cust...