Forsyth Farmers’ Market: the peak of Savannah culture
Written by Abby Chadwick. Photo courtesy of Abby Chadwick.
If there is any event that truly encompasses the southern hospitality and overall warmth of Savannah, it would 100% be the Forsyth Farmers’ Market. Looking out across the stretch of dozens of vendors and artists, there is not a single table you can walk up to without being greeted by the sellers––one of these being Mark Stahl, who works with a company called “Little Plant Things.” The name is exactly what I would describe his product as. Stahl explained that the stems on his table are micro-greens, which are essentially densely planted and early harvested vegetables and herbs that are consumed earlier in their growth process than any other produce, making them a great source of energy and four times more nutritious.
Little Plant Things’ products are made to be grown at home, so local business and customers are definitely their main demographic. “Most people don’t even know where their products come from. Shopping here, your money stays in the community rather than going somewhere else. So, you’re maintaining the community in this way.”
After tasting a microgreen and chatting with Mark a little bit more, I decided to stop by the PERC Coffee table. PERC is a company with a brick and mortar café over on East Broad Street, but they sell their beans and instant coffee as well. Their motto is “Good Coffee. Good People.” and that definitely held true after talking with their vendor, Brad Praria. He shared that “Actually, it was an employee initiative to get back into the community for us at PERC. We’ve been here before, and we’ve been in a lot of the cafes but we ventured more toward Atlanta. So, I think it’s great that anybody would support local business and we were Savannah locals first, so I’m really happy we’re here.” Praria also told me that he too is a student at SCAD and majors in illustration. (In my opinion, Praria is just one more example of how the venn diagram of SCAD students and coffee lovers is just a circle!)
After talking with a few more vendors, I made my last stop at Candace Williams’ table. Candace is a local artist who has been a frequent visitor of the market but has just begun displaying her own work. Just as I was about to ask her a few questions, she did something unexpected yet extraordinary. There was a little boy, probably around five years old, that very shyly walked up to the table to point out a painting of a horse to his mom and dad.
Williams noticed this boy, approached him and asked him if he liked horses. He nodded. She then asked him to name three things that made him really, really happy in life. He responded with “tigers, my mom and dad, and music.” Candace then unclipped the horse painting from the stand and gave it to him, asking not for any form of payment, but instead that he remember those three things whenever he looked at that painting. She then returned to explain why this type of event is so important to her. “I love meeting people. Forsyth Park is magical, it really is magical. Savannah is my home but I moved away for about twenty years, and I realized that the rest of the world is not as hospitable as Savannah is. I just feel so alive when I come here. The city is just so cultured. Everybody is so pleasant with each other. It just feels like home.”
If you’re interested in checking out the Forsyth Farmers’ Market, it’s available to you every Saturday morning from 9-1 p.m. Meet some vendors, buy some produce and check out some amazing local art!
